Kognito will exhibit At-Risk, an online training simulation designed to train faculty and staff how to identify and refer students in mental distress in the upcoming Mental Health Conference organizaed by the Natioanl Association of Student Affairs Personal (NASPA). The conference will take place in Boston, MA on January 22-24, 2009. 

The City University of New York, the nation’s largest urban public university with more than 450,000 students, has decided to adopt Kognito’s At-Risk product for four of its colleges, thereby taking a leading role in utilizing simulation technology to cost-effectively reach a large number of faculty with a learning experience that provides hands-on practice.

At-Risk is an online simulation that trains faculty and staff how to identify and refer students in mental distress to the campus counseling services. More about the product can be read at www.kognito.com/atrisk.

Each year, NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS) conducts a survey to count the number of unsheltered people living on New York City’s streets, parks and subways.  DHS uses the information gathered during HOPE to evaluate how its efforts are doing to reduce street homelessness by two-thirds by the end of 2009, and to develop new programs. 

Last year more than 2,500 volunteers signed up for the survey titled “HOPE 2008.”  They took to the streets at midnight in groups of three to five, with each group covering several areas of a few square blocks, or surveying subway stations.  More than 1,200 survey areas were covered, with the volunteers walking an average of more than five and a half miles, covering more than 2,000 miles of streets, parks and subways.  The volunteers asked every person they encountered whether they had a place to stay for the night, and what kind of place it was (their own apartment, a friend’s home, a park, etc.).  The exact location of anyone who was found to be unsheltered and homeless was noted, along with the time.  Every unsheltered homeless person was offered the opportunity to enter shelter immediately.

Working with DHS, Kognito developed an online learning resource to motivate NYC residents to participate in the upcoming annual survey and learn about the process of conducting the survey.