CPS Students, Faculty Volunteer to Assist Victims of Hurricane Wilma

More than 50 students in the Center for Psychological Studies have volunteered to offer supervised mental health services to victims of Hurricane Wilma. Working with the Florida Department of Children and Families and American Red Cross, they will counsel an anticipated 400 to 500 Broward County residents in the next few weeks.

Gene Cash, Ph.D., NCSP, associate professor and the director of School Psychology Assessment and Consultation Center, is coordinating the effort. The project gives students an opportunity to earn hands-on experience in assisting individuals following a major crisis.

“Unfortunately, because we’re in South Florida we’ll experience more hurricanes in the future,” said Divya Dharamrup, a 1st year graduate student. “This gives us an opportunity to help people cope with a natural disaster.”

Doctoral candidate Kelly Chuplis said she was looking forward to taking advantage of this opportunity. “I’ve already given to my church and helped neighbors,” said Chuplis, who is working on her dissertation. “This is something I can do to help beyond that.”