NATCHITOCHES, La. — Senior Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at Northwestern State University’s Cenla campus completed a community outreach project that connected people experiencing homelessness in downtown Alexandria with information about local support services while gaining experience in community-based patient care.
The project was completed during the students’ final semester in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program as part of the Level 5 curriculum. Students assess health and safety concerns within assigned communities before developing service projects that combine education and outreach.
Students Alyson Tarver and Ian David focused their project on homelessness in the downtown Alexandria riverfront area. They researched local resources and distributed bottled water along with information about organizations that provide food, shelter and other services, including Manna House, Hope House and the Salvation Army.
“The area that I focused on was the downtown Alexandria riverfront area,” Tarver said. “Our project was kind of focused on bridging the gap between the resources available and them actually getting access to those.”
David said the project was intended to help people experiencing homelessness learn about available community resources while giving nursing students experience outside the traditional hospital setting.
“We just wanted to make sure that they had somewhat of a voice or some information that there are some places in Alexandria,” David said.
Both students said the outreach provided exposure to challenges they had not previously encountered and highlighted the role community organizations play in addressing homelessness.
The community impact project is designed to give nursing students practical experience addressing health concerns outside clinical environments before they graduate and enter professional practice.