PROGRAMS
ABOUT
GET INVOLVED
SUPPORT OUR MISSION
Hoyleton Youth and Family Services is excited to begin a new partnership with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Community Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES) program, connecting first-year college students with meaningful, community-based projects that have the potential to strengthen the work we do with children, families and communities across the region.
CODES Scholars are students who are historically underrepresented in their major, among the first in their families to attend college, or meet other program eligibility criteria. Through CODES, students collaborate with community partners with the goal of creating a more socially just world, studying local challenges through a variety of academic perspectives and sharing what they learn through digital humanities methods.
For Hoyleton, this partnership is an opportunity to invite a new generation of thinkers into our work while giving students hands-on experience with projects that can make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
Creating Trauma-Informed Spaces That Support Well-Being One group of CODES Scholars, under the leadership of Jessica DeSpain, PhD, Director of the Codes program and Jen Yoder, Research Professor at SIUe with support and guidance from Kristen Shinn, Director of Community Services at Hoyleton will explore how community gardens and trauma-informed outdoor spaces can support the children, families and staff who use our locations.
At Hoyleton, trauma-informed care extends beyond counseling sessions or formal programming. We recognize that the environment surrounding a person can also influence how safe, connected and supported they feel. A thoughtfully designed outdoor space can provide opportunities to move, create, gather with others or simply have a quiet place to recharge.
Students will have opportunities to learn about Hoyleton programs and locations, hear directly from people who use these spaces and help visualize ideas for outdoor environments that encourage creativity, connection, accessibility and well-being.
Rather than simply asking what should be built, we want students to consider a broader question: What makes a space feel safe, welcoming and useful to the people who spend time there?
A second group of CODES Scholars will partner with Puentes de Esperanza, a Hoyleton program providing culturally responsive, bilingual counseling, advocacy and resource navigation for Spanish-speaking immigrant individuals and families. SIUe Research Professor Manuel Robles will lead this work with the students along with Puentes Immigrant Service Manager, Edda Berti.
This portion of the partnership will focus on community storytelling and engagement, helping create opportunities for families to share their lived experiences, perspectives and the ways Puentes services have affected their lives.
By listening directly to families, Hoyleton and Puentes can deepen our understanding of community needs, learn more about the outcomes families experience beyond their initial reason for seeking assistance and ensure that community voices continue to inform this Hispanic family services program..
The students will also explore ways to develop resources that amplify those voices and help communicate the broader impact of Puentes throughout the community.
What makes this partnership especially meaningful is the opportunity for learning to happen in both directions.
CODES Scholars bring their own experiences, academic interests, creativity and perspectives to the table. Hoyleton and Puentes can provide students with an opportunity to see how community organizations put concepts such as trauma-informed care, cultural responsiveness, advocacy and relationship-building into practice every day.
At the same time, our teams benefit from hearing new questions, considering new ideas and seeing our work through the perspectives of students who are just beginning their college journeys.
When people feel safer in their environment, they have more capacity to connect, learn, communicate, create and participate. That idea is at the heart of both projects—whether students are imagining a welcoming outdoor space or helping create opportunities for a family’s voice to be heard.
We are grateful to SIUE and the CODES program for choosing to learn alongside Hoyleton, Puentes de Esperanza and the communities we serve. We look forward to seeing how these students’ curiosity, creativity and commitment to community help shape what comes next.
Hoyleton Youth and Family Services is a faith-based family services organization serving children and families across Illinois. Learn more about our programs, including Puentes de Esperanza, by visiting our website.
