03/29/11 There is a fresh face in the Mayor’s Office! Letecia Timmel is doing an internship with Mayor Mark Senter. Letecia received her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Indiana University South Bend in 2004. She is nearing the end of her Masters in the Social Work program at IUSB. It is a 3-year part-time program that offers a concentration in Mental Health and Addictions at the South Bend Campus. Her interest is in pursuing the Leadership concentration so she will be transferring her classes for her final year to Indianapolis. The Leadership concentration provides classes that address financial management and program design.
Ms. Timmel is currently the Regional Systems of Care Coordinator at the Bowen Center. She coordinates a project called Systems of Care, which is a philosophy of how to deliver care to youth and families with Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED). The focus of Systems of Care is building on the strengths of the youth, family and community and keeping youth in their communities whenever possible. Letecia coordinates the Systems of Care in five counties: Huntington, Marshall, Wabash, Whitley and Kosciusko. She has held this position since June of 2010 when Bowen Center received a grant from the Division of Mental Health and Addictions to regionalize the existing systems. She has been with the Bowen Center for a little over six years.
Although she has no assigned “duties” or “responsibilities” from the Mayor, for her practicum, Letecia has to complete certain assignments that relate to social work. These include researching a certain population, addressing any ethical concerns and a lot of self-reflection in regards to personal biases that she may have. Since this is a new type of placement for the Mayor’s office, some of her assignments have not fit so nicely into a plan. This has created a little bit of creativity to make sure she is getting everything she needs out of it for her Masters in Social Work.
When asked what the favorite part of her internship has been so far, Letecia replied “I have enjoyed learning about the city of Plymouth and how it works. I think one of my favorite things is the Mayor’s Youth Council. I enjoy the inclusion of the youth and giving them some voice in a few key things in the city. I think they work hard and it gives them an opportunity to shine! I always love when youth are empowered and this council is a great way to build character.”
Letecia grew up in Louisville, KY with her mom who is a cosmetologist and an administrative assistant. She played soccer beginning at age 4 through college. Her father played basketball at the University of Louisville and then with the Atlanta Hawks. She moved from Louisville to Plymouth in 2000. She has been the assistant girls’ soccer coach at Northwood High School for the past four years. She enjoys camping, going to visit family and friends, reading, attending Colts games, and just sports in general!
Laura Mann Correspondent
