Praxis has allowed me to put theory into practice by providing me with a placement that relates to concepts I have learned in my psychology and health studies courses. In my Community Engagement course that focused on the opioid crisis, I learned skills such as how to use Narcan on an overdosed individual as well as the appropriate terminology to use when working with people who have substance use disorders. Additionally, the course taught me about different treatments for addiction as well as harm reduction in regards to opioids and the sex industry. The course allowed me to be a successful volunteer at Project Safe, where the participants are all sex-workers, and the majority use drugs. For example, when participants spoke to me about their experiences in Suboxone clinics I was able to understand what kind of treatment they were getting and properly respond to them.
In the praxis course Promoting Change thru Service I learned about resiliency and trauma-informed care; both are concepts that are extremely relevant to my placement since a lot of the women I interact with have experienced sexual harm, interpersonal violence, or gun violence.
At my placement I am not only able to take the concepts I have learned in class and apply them to the work I do, but what experience while volunteering influences the concepts and techniques I seek to learn more about.