A heart for helping: PTC Grad Capps strives to aid vulnerable adults
Piedmont Technical College alum Ashley Capps has a heart for helping people, especially those who are most vulnerable. That’s what drew her to PTC’s Human Services major and to her job as a long-term care ombudsman and volunteer ombudsman coordinator with the Upper Savannah Council of Governments.
Capps says she originally was driven to pursue human services after seeing a family member who couldn’t get needed services for addiction and mental health problems.
“I wanted to help people struggling with poverty, addiction, mental health, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to do that,” Capps said.
She found that PTC’s program prepared students to work in a variety of “helping fields” including advocacy, youth services, mental health, intellectual disabilities, addictions, aging, recreation, homelessness and abuse. She liked the broad and practical nature of the program and all the support she got from PTC faculty and administrators.
“My classes, certifications I received as the result of workshops, and field placements prepared me for the work I’m doing now,” said Capps, emphasizing the benefits of classes like Introduction to Social Work, Case Management, and Crisis Intervention.
Capps graduated in 2022 with an associate degree in Human Services and a 4.0 grade point average. While in the program, she completed field placements with the South Carolina Department of Social Services and South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation. She was also active as president of the Human Services Club, secretary of the Human Services Honor Society, and as a member of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, the National Technical Honor Society and the National Organization for Human Services.
She served as student representative for the Human Services Department, and she received honors including the President’s List, Distinguished Student Award, Human Services Club Honors Award and the Academic Excellence Award.
Capps began working with the Upper Savannah Regional Long Term Care Ombudsman Program in January 2023, serving as one of two certified ombudsmen who advocate for and work to resolve problems or complaints affecting residents in the nursing homes, assisted living facilities (community residential care facilities), and facilities that are owned/operated by the state Department of Disability and Special Needs and the state Department of Mental Health. She also coordinates and helps train volunteers who visit facilities and educates residents, families and staff.
“I love advocating for residents and resolving issues,” Capps said. “I was really drawn to this when I saw the job description and I love what I’m doing.”
She wants to continue working with older populations and vulnerable adults and to be a counselor one day for people with mental health and addiction issues. Her next step is to begin her bachelor’s in social work at Limestone University, online, in the fall.