Felicitas Sebastian, PhD, is recognized with this APA Citizen Psychologist Presidential Citation for her sustained community engagement and leadership in serving underserved women and minority populations of McLean County, Illinois.
Sebastian co-developed, raised funds, co-wrote grants, helped oversaw the restoration of two condemned buildings and led the capital campaign to pay off those properties for Labyrinth House/Labyrinth Outreach Services to Women, a not-for-profit organization, which provides comprehensive reintegration services to formerly incarcerated women who have returned to the community. Her overall vision was to restore these women’s dignity by moving them towards independence and reduce recidivism. The majority of the women served through this program are single mothers, homeless, have limited job skills, were abused and/or in abusive relationships, have addiction and mental health problems, and/or physical and cognitive disabilities.
Sebastian engaged and educated city council members and key civic leaders about the importance of rehabilitating these women, and the benefits of helping them and their families. Sebastian was the founder, co-president of the board, and co-director of this organization from 2004-16, after which it merged with the YWCA McLean County, Illinois. That merger was a strategic move to insure Labyrinth’s sustainability and to further develop the program that provides safe housing, mental health counseling, employment coaching and mentoring for women who might otherwise likely return to the courts. She now serves on the YWCA McLean County Board, as well as co-directs an Advisory Board for Labyrinth.
Currently, Sebastian is also on the committee that is working to develop an entrepreneurial business which will employ the women served by Labyrinth to help them develop soft job skills and a successful work history. She serves on a committee for the Chairs for Change fundraiser to support Recycling Furniture for Families and is also a member of their board. This program provides support to the Labyrinth apartments which house the formerly incarcerated women it serves.
Dr. Sebastian and her colleagues also lead another initiative to provide a hands-on educational and training program for women who are currently unable to break out of minimum wage jobs. The program is called Dreams Are Possible. It is partnering with local social service agencies, community colleges, and the building trades so that women can gain the skills and knowledge to have stable, secure employment and become financially stable. Furthermore, Dr. Sebastian serves on the Board supporting two programs of the organization, For A Better Tomorrow: YICU and YGC (Youth Global Citizen) that train youth to be servant leaders and give awards to youth for their significant involvement and contribution to the improvement of their community.
Dr. Felicitas Sebastian is a licensed psychologist in Bloomington, IL. She earned her doctorate from the University of Toledo in 1989 with a major in Guidance and Counseling. She has two bachelor degrees (History, 1966, from the College of the Holy Spirit in Manila, Philippines; Religious Studies, 1985, from Lourdes University in Ohio) and a Masters degree (1975) in Guidance and Counseling from Ateneo de Manila University. She has been in private practice from 1997 to 2010 delivering services to children, adolescents, adults, couples, families, and groups. Since 2010, she also has provided evaluation and assessment services to Social Security claimants to determine disability benefits and to the Diocese of Peoria’s Office of the Tribunal’s annulment cases.