{"id":7726,"date":"2022-07-05T13:27:59","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T17:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=7726"},"modified":"2022-07-05T13:27:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T17:27:59","slug":"detroit-mercy-service-learning-project-provides-care-packs-for-people-in-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2022\/07\/05\/detroit-mercy-service-learning-project-provides-care-packs-for-people-in-need\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Mercy service-learning project provides care packs for people in need"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PAFor more than six years,\u00a0Nour Lyon<\/a>\u00a0and her husband have been distributing care packs with useful items to members of the unhoused community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI always felt helpless walking by homeless people in Detroit or driving around and I thought, \u2018what can I have ready to go to give them?\u2019\u201d Lyon \u201912, an assistant professor in the Physician Assistant Program, said. \u201cI didn\u2019t always have cash on me, and I thought that this would be something good and beneficial to give them.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I really enjoyed some of the conversations that I would have with some homeless people and to just be able to have something to give them, it felt really good so we tried to tailor what to put in these packs based on things most people might need.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Lyon received a microgrant through the University that helped fund her care pack initiative and this spring, she received a\u00a0Ford Community Corps Partnership (FCCP)<\/a>\u00a0grant which assists in funding her project and turns her PA class into a service-learning course.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A service-learning course requires you to include a service activity within the course along with finding a community partner, so Lyon chose The NOAH Project (Networking, Organizing, and Advocating for the Homeless) as her community partner.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NourLyon got her PA students involved in her project, who have said that it has changed their lives for the better. The students help assemble the care packs at Detroit Mercy and distribute them to the surrounding community while participating in clinicals in metro Detroit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe gratitude is palpable and heartwarming, and as much as you know that you might\u2019ve helped them, they definitely helped you more,\u201d said Madelyn Bastin, a fifth-year senior enrolled in Detroit Mercy\u2019s accelerated Physician Assistant program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough these care packages are limited in what they provide, connecting with this population brings the community together, allowing us to rebuild Detroit step-by-step,\u201d added Katelyn Sheena, a second-year graduate student in the PA program.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The contents in these care packs are essential items that people need every day. They include water bottles, granola bars, fruit snacks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, Band-Aids, T-shirts and socks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot only do my classmates and I live all over the metro Detroit area, but we do a majority of our clinical rotations in some pretty underserved communities,\u201d Bastin said. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019ve passed someone in need while leaving the clinic or the hospital before and thought, \u2018Oh I wish I had something to give them.\u2019\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also helped give many students perspective outside of the classroom.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt pushes many students to step out of their comfort zone, connect and give individuals hope during their time of need,\u201d Sheena said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now that Lyon has teamed up with The NOAH Project, they plan to find out what the unhoused people would prefer in their care packs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The University\u2019s commitment to serving and helping people in and around the communities of metro Detroit has been beneficial in helping the project grow.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great that the University gives opportunities for us to do these things, it\u2019s really nice,\u201d Lyon said. \u201cThe people are still there that taught me like Father Tim (Hipskind). I graduated 10 years ago and it\u2019s the same network of the same people, so it\u2019s really nice that they foster that sort of activity on campus.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout my time at Detroit Mercy, the University has consistently emphasized the importance of serving the underserved,\u201d Bastin said. \u201cWhile most can understand the value of this, it\u2019s quite another to witness the need firsthand.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lyon feels strongly about giving back with how she\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0been blessed in her life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI like serving, I like doing things for others,\u201d Lyon said. \u201cI think it helps me step back and realize how fortunate I am, so I either try to volunteer my time or do stuff like this that brings a good balance into my life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more than six years,\u00a0Nour Lyon\u00a0and her husband have been distributing care packs with useful items to members of the unhoused community.\u00a0 \u201cI always felt helpless walking by homeless people in Detroit or driving around and I thought, \u2018what can I have ready to go to give them?\u2019\u201d Lyon \u201912, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":7729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[17,21,16],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/07\/IMG-9638.jpg?fit=600%2C315&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-20C","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7726"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7730,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7726\/revisions\/7730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}