Urban Initiative

Initiatives with Community Partners

If you are interested in learning more about, participating in, or supporting any of these initiatives, contact urban.initiative@pepperdine.edu.

Urban Fellows Program—A selective training program in which graduate students are integrated into service centers to gain experience and develop professional skills.

Community Counseling Clinics—GSEP manages three counseling clinics, which offer support to the Pepperdine and external communities.

Multicultural Issues Impacting Community Speaker Series—A bi-annual lecture featuring speakers representing diverse backgrounds and views relating to education and mental health. These events assist in our students' journey towards multicultural proficiency.

Multicultural Research and Training Lab (MRTL)—A forum for psychology doctoral students engaged in multicultural research to discuss and receive feedback on their clinical dissertations topics, as well as foster the creation of professional relationships.

Culture and Trauma Research Lab—Conducts research on the cultural context of interpersonal trauma recovery, including analyses of partner abuse, sexual assault, and racism among the American Indian, African American, Latina, Asian American, Jewish American, Liberian, and South African populations.

Social Justice Collaborative (SJC)—Inspired by the GSEP Diversity Council to promote conversations around integrating social justice in clinical psychology.

University Intern Program—Addresses the shortage of qualified elementary and secondary teachers in underserved communities by developing interns' multicultural proficiency and professional competency.

Pepperdine Resource, Youth Diversion, and Education (PRYDE)—A prevention, intervention, and counseling program for at-risk youth and their families in Orange County, staffed by graduate and post-graduate interns from GSEP.

Professional Development School Programs—A deepened urban preparation program for pre-service teachers conducted in several Los Angeles area schools, enabling professional learning in a real-world setting.

Union Rescue Mission—Under the supervision of faculty, psychology students provide for the mental health treatment needs of homeless persons in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles. The project is researching new forms of therapy for homeless populations.

Hope Gardens Family Center—Psychology students assist with counseling at this transitional living and permanent supportive housing facility for women and children.

Village of Hope—Master's students and alumni from the marriage and family therapy program provide counseling services to residents at this transitional living facility in Orange County, California.

Urban Parent Teacher Education Collaborative (UPTEC)—A cohort in the Master of Arts in Education and Teaching Credential program that focuses on the social and cultural foundations of education and engaging urban parents and community members in the education process.

The Riordan Extreme Leadership Program—Aims to provide all students, especially those in low-income communities, with access to a high-quality education that will prepare them to compete successfully in the 21st century.

Los Angeles Job Corps—Provides a vocationally-focused alternative schooling system for low-income students, and collaborates with the Urban Initiative on program development.

Teacher Research Centers—A development of school-based action research projects designed to improve student achievement. These centers have the potential of transforming partnership schools into nationally-recognized centers for action research in urban education.

South Central Training Consortium (SCTC)—Provides a system for supervising and training therapists working in underserved Los Angeles communities.

Koreatown Youth and Community Center—Provides counseling services to children ages 3-17 and children on probation, in addition to counseling services for West Adams High School students.

Jenesse Center—The oldest domestic violence intervention program in South Los Angeles which assists victims in addressing their immediate crisis and changing the patterns of their lives.

1736 Family Crisis Center—A family crisis center at which students provide counseling services for the homeless, victims of domestic abuse, and those suffering from mental illness.

SHIELDS for Families, Inc.—A Department of Mental Health and Department of Children Services contracted agency through which students engage in school-based mental health.

National Senior Service Corps—Helps adults over age 55 find volunteer opportunities to solve problems in their communities. 

Get on the Bus—Dedicated to providing transportation for children to correctional institutes across the state of California where the children's mothers and fathers may be incarcerated.

Human Services Association—Urban Fellows will provide counseling to southeast Los Angeles County residents at this community-based social services agency.

Plaza Community Services—Supports the mental health needs of the uninsured with individual, couples, family, child, and group therapy, such as women impacted by substance abuse and violence.

Exodus Recovery—Promotes sustained wellness, recovery, healthy living, and community integration through mental health programs focused on responsibility and accountability.

Animo Leadership Charter High School—Prepares underrepresented students for higher education by incorporating bilingualism and technology into the curriculum.