Sam Wilkinson, principal investigator for the RTNS program, earned the Community Partner Award from the WVU School of Public Health
Sam Wilkinson, principal investigator for the Regional Transition Navigator Services (RTNS) program, was presented with the Community Partner Award at the WVU School of Public Health's Year-end Celebration on April 25.
RTNS is a free service designed to provide information, training and resources/services to at-risk youth and young adults statewide ages 14-25. The program began accepting referrals in March 2022 and has since received over 500 referrals from across the state.
RTNS employs student workers in addition to full-time staff that work together to help young people in West Virginia. "RTNS had had a commitment to offering opportunities to students since its inception," said Wilkinson. "The program has hosted nine students from the WVU School of Public Health since the fall of 2022 when it accepted its first cohort. Those students have since gone on to graduate school programs and public service, while several have become full-time employees with RTNS."
Wilkinson's recognition is just one of many recent exciting announcements regarding the RTNS team. To kickoff the month of May, RTNS launched their brand new transitional living map. This interactive map shows transitional living programs for each county in West Virginia, and is filterable by gender and counties that offer foster youth initiatives. Transitional living programs are invaluable resources for RTNS's target demographic, providing stable housing and opportunities for employment, life skills training and more.
Learn more about the WVU School of Public Health's Year-end Celebration.
