Author: Rowena Snow
May 6, 2025
Medical student Kate Dembny and public health student Lily Yang have been working with the Wayside Recovery Addiction Center. The team has been leading educational sessions on mental health, life skills, and staff support. The project put the team out of their comfort zone as they didn’t have experience in addiction recovery but they took the work head-on. Lily shared, “I am grateful for the chance to engage with clients at our partner site and am deeply inspired by their resilience and positivity.”
The team received positive feedback on workshops and their session evaluations helped refine their approach for future sustainability. Through this project, they have strengthened their professional skills. Lily applied her public health knowledge to real-world programming, while Kate deepened her understanding of community-based mental health care. Their favorite moments included engaging directly with clients and receiving feedback that highlighted the value of their work. Overall, the experience has been an invaluable learning opportunity, impacting their future careers in public health and clinical care.