Newton’s William James College Partners With Community Healthlink

NEWTON, MA — William James College in Newton has entered into an agreement with UMass Memorial Health’s Community Healthlink, which will now be a designated field training site for WJC pre-bachelor, master’s, and doctoral level students.

The partnership, which is made possible by grant funding from Health Resources & Services Administration to WJC through the Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program for Professionals and Paraprofessionals, will focus on training and equipping behavioral health professionals to meet the needs of children, adolescents, transitional age youth, and families from historically marginalized backgrounds.

"Addressing health equity, health disparity, and access to care are core operating principles at Community Healthlink, so we see this partnership with William James College as perfectly aligned with our mission,” said Community Healthlink President Tamara Lundi in a statement. “There is such a demand for qualified, well-trained behavioral health professionals. I’m excited that we are partnering with William James College to address a serious need."

Students will train in Community Healthlink’s Children’s Services division. In addition to practical, real-word experience working alongside trained CHL professionals, WJC students in the program will receive academic and professional support, mentoring, and stipends.

“Working with community partners gives our students the opportunity to train in settings that offer diversity and exposure to the intersectionality of community and mental health,” said Dr. Shani Turner, associate director for the BHWET at William James College, in a statement.

The BHWET program aims to recruit and retain students from diverse backgrounds – including different gender identities, sexual orientations, and racial, ethnic, cultural, religious, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The grant funding is for four years.