Auburn’s Commitment to Community Care

With more than 45,000 students, faculty and employees calling Auburn home—not to mention more than 253,000 living alumni worldwide—it’s no secret that Auburn has its hands full responding to the mental, financial and physical needs of its expansive Auburn Family.

Every day, teams of passionate Auburn students and faculty dedicate themselves to improving the lives of families residing within the boundaries of Auburn and beyond. From family therapy to food insecurity, rural health initiatives to emotional regulation, Auburn is uniquely equipped to help the people of Alabama lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

“We’re a land-grant university and so we were charged with that from the very beginning—to build a better Alabama through leveraging our educational resources. I think that’s really the core of who we are,” said Hollie Cost ’91, assistant vice president of University Outreach & Public Service. “When you look at our creed, we value that human touch. So I think it’s really ingrained in what we do.”

How the Campus Kitchen Project is Feeding the Family

A three-time Auburn graduate, Cost is tasked with a laundry list of initiatives that aid in strengthening the relationship between Auburn and its surrounding families. This includes programs such as All In, All Pink; AuburnServes and the Campus Kitchen Project, a national student-led organization that repurposes food across campus and distributes it to the community.

In 2024, the Campus Kitchen Project was honored with an Auburn University Involvement Award for the “Most Exceptional Campus Organization.” This was largely due to the diligence of its 300-plus student volunteers and the mentorship of Jocelyn Vickers ’98, director of public service.

The program, which has been going strong for ten years, helps feed approximately 2,000 people each week, many of whom are repeat families. Beyond seeing the effects of food scarcity in the community firsthand, the student volunteers are encouraged to learn more about the world beyond Auburn.

Improving Access to Affordable Healthcare in Alabama

The Rural Health Initiative, also headed by Cost, partners with communities across Alabama to increase healthcare resources to families at no cost to them. These efforts gained momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Alabama residents in rural regions struggled to access medical care.

Even beyond the effects of the pandemic, however, the state of Alabama struggles to satisfy the medical needs of its residents. In 2024, Alabama’s healthcare access ranked 46th in the country, according to Mental Health America. Cost argues that increasing residents’ familiarity with and access to telehealth is just one solution of many when it comes to rural health.

Supporting Well-Being at the Marriage and Family Therapy Center

Telehealth has also grown as an avenue for remote family care in other departments on Auburn’s campus, including Human Development & Family Science’s Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Center. Accredited since 1979, this center is a training facility for graduate students enrolled in the Master of Science Marriage and Family Therapy Program. Under the supervision of Scott Ketring, six graduate students each year guide individuals, couples and families toward healthy, happy relationships.

“One of the misnomers is marriage,” Ketring said. “Our students are trained and they’ll work with people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and severe depression. And it’s really, really clear that for the treatment of major depression, marriage and family therapy is very effective. So if you have an illness, you can come as a family, because that helps with the process of compliance, healing and collaboration. Many of these stressors really put a lot of strain on a family, and we’re there for the family no matter the problems.”

Similar to the Rural Health Initiative, the AU MFT Center gained traction during the pandemic when many families were forced to work under one roof.

“Research right here in Human Sciences really ramped up during COVID when everybody was forced to go home,” said Communications and External Relations Director Kimberly Hendrix. “A lot of people didn’t know of the center. They had to add more people because suddenly it was overwhelmed.”

When asked about the personal challenges that families bring to the center, Ketring says that today’s clients generally feel “a little bit more frayed” and “on edge.” The social fabric, he adds, continues to place a financial burden on families. Clients of the center generally pay at least 40% less than the average rate in Auburn, with some paying even less.

Statewide nonprofit organization Alabama Possible reported in 2024 that 16.2% of the state—approximately 798,000 Alabamians—lived below the federal poverty threshold.

“With the change in the economy, it’s harder for families to find support,” said Vickers. “And the support is so limited that you have organizations that want to help, but there’s so many people out there that need the help, so they can only help this person or help a family one time. Then the family has to find other opportunities to find assistance.”

Though the AU MFT Center is open to student clients, its primary mission is to offer support and encouragement to the larger community. The center has learned to adapt to the diverse needs of its clientele, including active-duty personnel from Fort Benning and their families, sexual assault survivors, Beauregard residents impacted by the deadly tornado of 2019, children, employees of the Lee County Humane Society and juvenile sex offenders at the Mount Meigs Campus of the Alabama Department of Youth Services.

Such an expansive scope ensures that the second-year therapists trained at the AU MFT Center graduate with firsthand experience of treating a wide range of client needs. “The hours you need for Alabama is 500 direct client contact hours,” said Ketring. “And [my students] get 500, 600, 700 hours. I do not have my students graduate and say, ‘I’m not sure if I’m ready to see clients.’ They’re all like, ‘I’ve seen it.’”

Auburn’s Commitment to Building Community Trust

With its continued support of initiatives like the Campus Kitchen Project, Rural Health Initiative, the Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic and The Center for Autism Research, Treatment, and Training (CARTT), Auburn University is likewise adapting to its unique environment.

“We have so much to learn from these communities,” said Cost. “So there’s a great awareness of the way that we interact and build trust and not coming in with the preconception of what a community needs. But the idea is more, ‘What can we learn? How can we grow?’ Taking baby steps, extending ourselves, being authentic, being genuine. And that’s what we want. We want impact, and we’re getting it.”

Funding The Future

For the healthcare programs, clinics and grassroots initiatives dedicated to family care at Auburn University, changing the future for the better may mean redefining how we quantify a happy, healthy life.

“Families aren’t looking ahead maybe 15 years to their child going to college,” said Levin. “They’re experiencing and living in the here and now. And I think the most important thing to determine is, what does a fulfilling and full life mean for this family? Down the line it matters to me that they’re living the fullest, most positive life. And whatever is valuable to them and their family, that’s where I’m meeting them. Not society’s definition of a full life.”

By Chloe Livaudais