SJSU Professor Lewis Aptekar

Dr. Lewis Aptekar is a clinical psychologist and a retired Professor in Counselor Education with more than three decades of experience. Dr. Aptekar visited the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, as a Fulbright Scholar from 1983-1984. From 1985-1986, Dr. Lewis Aptekar worked part-time for the United States Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, as a General Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Lewis Aptekar also served as a child psychologist with San Benito County Mental Health Services in California.

To end homelessness, youth and young adults need stable housing, supportive access to caring adults, and access to mainstream services that will place them on a path to long-term success, explains Dr. Lewis Aptekar. In addition, according to Dr.Lewis Aptekar , reunifying youth with family or a support system, when safe and appropriate, should be at the core of any approach to ending homelessness. Young adults may also require broader education and employment supports, and may need more short and long-term housing options, including rapid re-housing. To end homelessness for youth, we must: Prioritize family reunification or support as the initial intervention for youth experiencing homelessness. Most youth return home to family, and programs interacting with youth can facilitate that process when safe and appropriate. Basic programs already prioritize this, but other youth-serving programs and coordinated entry systems should also adopt it as an initial focus. Family in...

Dr. Lewis Aptekar is a retired professor who graduated with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1970. He’s also a well-published author who has traveled the world, immersed himself in cultures within developing nations and witnessed firsthand the struggles of homeless youth, street children and displaced families. Even in retirement, Dr. Lewis Aptekar maintains an excellent reputation in his field. He held a Partners of the Americas Fellowship and, over his decades-long career, he’s received numerous academic awards. His awards include a Senior Fulbright Scholar award and two Fulbright scholarships. Also, he was a Nehru Visiting Professor, he’s held a Rotarian International Ambassadorship, and he completed a Bellagio Rockefeller Foundation Study and Conference scholarly residency. Dr. Aptekar is a frequent reviewer for Child Abuse and Neglect, and he formerly served as the President of the Society of Cross-Cultural Research. He’s also ...