To help combat social anxiety, Lozada hosted a six-week therapy group called “The Circle.” Students engaged in activities designed to stimulate conversation and grew more comfortable socializing over time. Lozada hopes to host future workshops on related topics, like self-esteem. For her, it is vital to keep vulnerable youth engaged in their own mental well-being.

“The youth that we work with here, a lot of them are foster kids, and many are homeless or on the verge of homelessness. These youths are the ones that… we’re kind of like the last solution that they have. We’re the ones they trust. It’s a little more challenging because sometimes they go missing or we can’t get a hold of them because their phone doesn’t work anymore, so the difficult part is learning to be more patient with them.”

Lozada was drawn to PLN both for its opportunities to work with Latinos and for its unique reputation in the community. Now, she cherishes the support of the Mental Health team and feels equipped to handle the challenges ahead. 

“[PLN is] really great about not burning you out. That’s one thing that has really stood out for me… Whereas, if you go to a different agency, they’re like, ‘Here you go, here you go, here you go.’ It’s heavy, it’s a lot, you’re like, ‘I can barely breathe.’ With us, we’re like, ‘I can handle this,’ or ‘This case is too much for me.’ I think the supervisors do a great job at selecting the cases that they feel are going to fit you.”