Kaya's School-based Psychosocial Support

This past year, Kaya formed a critical relationship with a neighborhood school, Santa Rosa de Florida.  Many of the children in living in our homes attend this school, as do most of the children in the Kaya Center day program.  For all of our kids, the school experience is not always easy.  Emotional issues come up in the classrooms and affect learning, behavior, and social interactions.  School-based psychosocial support is an important ingredient in helping our kids achieve success.  So, some of Kaya's clinical staff spend time each week onsite at the school, providing services as needed and building closer relationships with classroom teachers to better serve our kids.  Our presence in the school also enables us to identify new candidates for our day program.  The teachers and directors of the school are actively referring us cases of kids who are at risk of dropping out of school and moving onto the streets full-time. It is our hope that this partnership will continue to grow and develop and that we can work ever more collaboratively with the school to provide quality holistic care for the kids in greatest need.

Below we caught up with Director of Clinical Services, Guisella Mustafa and Psychologist, Claudia Conde about their work with the children of Kaya.

When and how did you begin working with Kaya Children International?

Guisella:  I have been working at Kaya since March of 2008.  I remember asking God to give me an opportunity to work with children living in homes for victims of abuse.  I had been doing this kind of work as a volunteer for many years, and as an outside consultant for different organizations until Kaya touched my heart.  I realized that in this organization I could not only fulfill my professional goals, but also begin to live my life’s mission.  I started as a psychologist, working directly with the children in the homes, and through that experience I was able to move into my current role.

Claudia:  I started working at Kaya about 2 years ago.  I came to replace Guisella during her maternity leave, but since the program was growing, I was able to stay.

Why do you enjoy working at Kaya?

Guisella:  I am grateful to Kaya for allowing me to live the mission I have in this life, and because in this organization, every life is important.  Each individual is valued and every human being works together, united under God.

Claudia:  Because it’s like a family.  Together the children and the staff, we form the Kaya family.  For me, the work environment is so important and here I have an environment of respect, commitment, mutual assistance, and teamwork.

What does Kaya's partnership with the local schools look like?

Guisella:  We have regular contact with the school.  Once a week, our social worker spends a day in the school, working with school personnel to identify children who are good candidates for our day program.  She also assists with different needs in the school.  One of our psychologists also visits the school one a week to assist with disciplinary and emotional issues.  These activities are allowing us to build a closer relationship with the school and the children who are most at risk and in need of our care.

Claudia:  Kaya provides holistic services to the students at the school.  Those services include social work – where we identify the children most and risk, and if they are appropriate candidates, we invite them to be a part of our day program, where we provide clinical and educational services.  Many times, we are referred cases by the teachers or directors of the school and we’re able to intervene with individual and family therapy, and our “mentors” are able to assist with disciplinary issues in the school.

What are some of the needs you see in the children?

Guisella:  I am constantly asking myself that same question, since one of the biggest objectives I have – in addition to it being my responsibility within the organization – is to offer the children an opportunity at life.  To do that, we need to take care of their various needs, from emotional to physical, so we need to have a clear idea of what those needs are.  Through my work, I’ve observed that a great need of the children and adolescents, apart from their basic needs like nutrition and clothing and such, is to heal the broken bonds with their birth families.  Frequently, their hearts have been broken by their families, but they want to forgive and rebuild their relationships.  It’s a process, but we are fortunate to have a highly skilled clinical team and we work intensively with each one of the kids in the organization.

Claudia:  Many need holistic care – that is, emotional support, academic support, even economic support to cover basic materials they need for school like books that their families are unable to provide.  Others need medical assistance for illnesses or injuries that were never treated.  Recently, we were able to help a young girl who was dying of anorexia.  Her family was unable to hospitalize her, but we were able to help them find assistance through a local church.  In other cases, we provide more emotional support and family intervention. 

What is it like working with the school?

Guisella:  I am responsible for coordinating the clinical department, which involves psychology and social work, so I don’t work directly with the school as much.  But the school is an important part of the kids’ life and I enjoy holistic work immensely.

Claudia:  Working with the schools gives us the opportunity to get to know and accompany each child in an individual manner through the learning process.

What changes do you see in the students who come to Kaya?

Guisella:  They have the opportunity to receive holistic support, based on our 4 main program areas:  psychosocial, academic, spiritual, and residential.  The children who attend the day program are part of a prevention program where we try to reduce the risk factors that are likely to lead to them abandoning their families and moving onto the streets full time.

Claudia:  I think one of the changes we see is that the boys and girls from the school who come to the center see us as key points of reference.  They know we will support them and accompany them, and they now feel a sense of belonging in the Kaya family.

How do you think this partnership with Santa Rosa School will help Kaya in the future?

Guisella:  I think that we will achieve a more holistic program as a result, and that both our residential and day students will benefit greatly.  The relationship with the school is important because it helps us identify appropriate candidates for both our residential and day programs.