The Safe House in Cape Girardeau is a domestic violence agency that provides safe shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, case management, counseling, court advocacy, referral services, and education programs. 

Melody Sievers, a Crisis Advocate at the Safe House, shares why the organization partners with SEMO and how that partnership benefits students pursuing a career in social work. "I would say our SEMO students that we have as interns are always very prepared. They already have a lot of the case management and interview skills you need in order to work with clients."

She explains what students can expect from the internship. "So they'll start off with just observing client interactions with other employees and eventually get to a point where they start meeting with their own clients later on in the semester in their internship." 

"Our intern right now has seen case management and court proceedings and has been to our shelter as well as met with people at our outreach office. She's really getting the full scope of everything that we offer and getting a little taste of all of the services that we provide."

Melody continues to express how impressed she is with SEMO students. "We just love that the SEMO social work program is so professional with the way that they work with their students and they really set them up for success into entering the job market. The students are always very prepared to start meeting with clients and to offer services to them. This partnership means a lot to the Safehouse because we really finds so much value in the services that SEMO students can offer."