Wash U program shows occupational therapy can be a powerful tool for homeless shelters
For six years now, occupational therapy students at Washington University have worked with St. Louis’ homeless community at St. Patrick Center. Their weekly clinics seek to help people move from surviving to thriving.
Instructor Quinn Tyminski, an assistant professor in Wash U’s occupational therapy program, said that the clinic began with the basics.
“We started by getting to know the clients. We would just sit down and play a game of chess with them, or sit and talk to them about their lives. But then we started introducing what we would call occupation, or activities, into their lives,” Tyminski explained on Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air.
“We would do an art project, or we would do a chair yoga group, and then we would transition to some higher level skills, things like, how do we cook a meal? How do we go grocery shopping in the cheapest way possible, or how do we go grocery shopping in a food pantry?
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-01-18/wash-u-program-shows-occupational-therapy-can-be-a-powerful-tool-for-homeless-shelters
