Erin House

Agency: Divorce Recovery (Our Family Services)

Term: Fall - 2003

I am working in the second semester of the internship at Divorce Recovery. My main responsibilities have been to help organize people and supplies for groups in the office during the week. Then one evening a week I run a Children of Divorce group for children ages 5-18 whose parents are or did go through a divorce. Over the summer my children were 11-12 year olds. This fall I have taken on the 5-7 year old children, which have been quite a fun and entertaining experience.

Divorce Recovery is an agency that helps the community of Tucson to make the transitions that accompany divorce easier. The agency serves the newly divorced individuals, children of divorced parents, step families trying to have a second chance at family life, and a full array of education classes for anyone to help with life skills. I primarily work with the Children of Divorce groups, but I also register people for the other classes and explain to them what each class entails.

I decided to do the internship because I had finished my required classroom credits and I thought it would be a good idea to get some “hands-on” experience in the field that I am planning to spend the rest of my life working in.

After I graduate in May, I plan to attend graduate school and attain my masters and/or doctorate degree in psychology. Once all of my schooling is done I plan to work with clients on a daily basis in either a mental health facility or in my own practice.

I have learned a lot about myself and a lot about non-profit organizations in general since starting my internship. I have learned that I enjoy helping people overcome their problems just like I thought that I did. I learned that I enjoy working with children, but families as well. I learned that non-profit work is hard because there is not always a lot of money to do everything that needs to be done. Sometimes it is hard not to help as much as you would like. But I think that has taught me patience in working and that nothing comes easy.

A story I really enjoy to remember is working with a specific child in the children of divorce group. She had been through a lot and she was very sad. The first couple meetings she would participate, but was always very solemn. Towards the end she grew to trust me and the other instructors. It was great to see her laugh for the first time when we all played a game together and she actually seemed to forget her problems for a moment and just smile.

I would tell a student looking to do this internship that it is a good idea if you are looking to get some experience and apply what you have learned in your classes to real life situations. I would tell them that it requires work, but it will teach you a lot about your career goals, and what you may or may not what to pursue later in life.

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