Elise
Parker,
OT-S
Occupational Therapy Student
University of New England
Elise Parker is a second-year (M.S.) occupational therapy student at the University of New England (UNE) and a graduate assistant for UNE’s Center for Excellence in Collaborative Education. She received her undergraduate degree (B.S.) in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University. Elise specializes in harm reduction and identifies community-specific needs to reduce stigma and bias and increase safety and access to healthcare for underserved individuals. In her free time, Elise enjoys camping and hiking with friends but can also be found reading on one of Maine’s beautiful beaches.
Presenting at the Nexus Summit:
An interprofessional team of students with faculty support have developed harm reduction re-entry kits for residents leaving the county jail. Resident focus groups and advice from corrections staff informed the inventory for the bags. It is estimated that one in every two residents leaving incarceration have mental health concerns, with two in five men and three in five women reporting having a combination of physical, mental, and substance use disorder (SUD) (James & Glaze, 2006, as cited in La Vigne et al., 2008: Mallik-Kane & Visher, 2008, as cited in La Vigne et al., 2008).…