NAU Program Equips Students to Tackle Homelessness Through Practical Experience
In an innovative approach to education, Northern Arizona University’s (NAU) Community Impact Fellowship Program (CIFP) is giving graduate students a unique chance to engage directly with the homelessness crisis. Thanks to a renewed grant from the Garcia Family Foundation, the program will continue to support students pursuing a Master of Arts in Psychological Sciences.
Laura Noll, co-director of the Interdisciplinary Health Ph.D. program and associate professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences, emphasized the program’s objective: “The purpose of the program is to support high-impact graduate training in evidence-based program evaluation. It helps students use the science and the education they are getting at NAU to solve real-world problems, such as homelessness, in collaboration with community partners using innovative program development and evaluation strategies.”
Participants are offered 20 paid hours of weekly training in collaboration with local organizations like Northland Family Health Center and Catholic Charities of Northern Arizona, as well as statewide initiatives such as the Arizona Housing Analytics Collaborative (AzHAC) led by associate professor Robert Wickham. This training focuses on using data-driven strategies to combat the housing crisis by preventing homelessness and optimizing the use of limited resources.
“Each fellow has an individual training plan,” Noll explained. “Depending on their training and career goals, and because this is a workforce pipeline development, fellows might have a local emphasis, a statewide emphasis or both. This program helps students be ready for the workforce by providing them not only with scientific training, but also with a lot of skill development opportunities.”
Joseph Parker, a first-year master’s student, shared his enthusiasm for joining the program. “I look forward to all the things I can learn and accomplish as part of this program,” Parker stated. “I still don’t know what organization I will be working with, but I think my work in the program will be important because it will support local organizations in the Flagstaff community.”
The program not only equips students with advanced academic skills but also provides training in professional communication, partnership establishment, agenda creation, and leadership in meetings. By immersing themselves in nonprofit work, students can explore career paths in scientific fields while contributing to solutions for homelessness.
Noll highlighted the program’s broader impact: “My neighbor’s needs are my needs; we are all interconnected. Our community is only strong and healthy when everyone is taken care of. As a publicly funded institution that has a mission to train the next generation of leaders and public service workers and people who are going to help Arizona remain healthy and economically vibrant, it is so important that we are playing a role in addressing urgent social issues like the housing crisis, which is dire in the state of Arizona, like elsewhere.”
This fall, the program welcomes its fourth cohort of CIFP Fellows, including current fellows Olivia Tobias and Collin Kracht, and incoming MA students Caden Stevenson and Parker. Bella Rios, an NAU Honors College student, and Aubrie Patterson, an interdisciplinary health Ph.D. student, will continue to contribute as team members and provide leadership. For more information on how to apply, interested individuals can reach out to Laura Noll.
Mariana Laas | NAU Communications
(928) 523-5050 | mariana.laas@nau.edu
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