Wherever Michelle goes, people are pleased
Michelle Hunt had been a licensed hairdresser, running her own successful business when she returned to school. She enjoyed working with people and wanted to learn more so she could help them in different ways. “I wasn’t interested in being a number, and I felt a private school would be a better match for my personality,” she said, “I was also concerned about the pedigree of the schools I considered.”
Hunt chose Argosy University, Seattle, and enrolled in the Psychology program to earn a bachelor’s degree. “I’ll admit I was scared. This was a second career for me. I wasn’t the oldest, and I wasn’t the youngest student,” she said.
Now a graduate, Hunt obtained full-time employment as a case manager for Catholic Community Services of Western Washington (CCS), working with homeless families. “My main job is to help them get into permanent housing,” Hunt said. The CCS offers a two-year transitional housing program that includes weekly case management sessions to help clients set attainable goals.
“We serve all ages over 18,” Hunt stated, “Our oldest resident is 74. We see intense stuff, but usually don’t work with the ‘sleeping under the bridge’ homeless because we are in a more rural area of King County. We tend to work with people who are ‘couch hopping’ or who are refugees from foreign countries, and families in domestic violence situations that must flee an abuser. Others have lost their jobs due to illness or accident. Gas money and transportation are some of the hardest things to find for them. People donate food, but they don’t give gas.”
Before her promotion to Lead Case Manager, Hunt worked at CCS as a Life Skills Coordinator, where she worked with pregnant homeless women. “There is some sadness in this line of work, so one of the main things we pay attention to is staff burnout. It can happen easily. On a whole, I see about a 30 percent success rate. When client issues are beyond my capabilities as case manager, I refer them within CCS; for instance, if a client has an addiction or suffers from mental health issues that are beyond my education, they can still get the help they need without leaving the program,” she stated.
Dr. Doug Shirley, former chair of the Seattle campus’ Psychology Department was quick to praise Hunt. “Michelle did stellar work. I was impressed with her knowledge and thought processes. She brought passion and enthusiasm to her studies, and she was promoted quickly in the professional world,” he said, “Wherever Michelle is, people are pleased.”