During my time with Proyecto Florecer, I was the facilitator and social work coordinator. Every week, I planned and facilitated two women’s circle and two youth workshops for two hours, each on topics revolving around social and mental health. I also conducted community outreach for both students and organizations to collaborate with Proyecto Florecer.

)))The organization’s mission is to disrupt cycles of poverty in Latin America and create sustainable generational change through education, strengthened family relationships, and nutritional security. The work that I did contributed to the mission by creating spaces for conversations centered on mental health. These topics included generational trauma, healthy versus unhealthy relationships, self-care, reflecting on younger self, handling worries, self-control, social media effect on views of others, and more. For many of the community members I worked with, this was their first time having a space to discuss these topics and really question the concept and their views. Part of disrupting the cycle of generational trauma involves learning and having conversations of reflection and discomfort with yourself and others in order to grow, which is a key aspect that the organization wanted to get across to its community members.

)))The work I did with Proyecto Florecer went hand-in-hand with what I have been learning in my social work program. I have honed the skills needed to be a compassionate social worker, understanding the importance of active listening, empathy, advocacy, boundary setting, problem solving and self-care. I accessed all of these skills at some point during my internship this summer. For example, I noticed some of our social media posts were only in English. I advocated for posts to be made in both English and Spanish, representing both sides of our audience.

)))I was also able to utilize many of the topics discussed in social work, speaking with participants about the importance of healthy versus unhealthy relationships, self-care, and more. My studies helped me tremendously because I was able to put into practice what I was learning while also improving my own skills. This internship was very self-reflective and made me ask myyself what type of social worker I aim to be. My aim encompasses empathy, curiosity, advocacy, language inclusivity, and cultural sensitivity.

)))During my internship I faced some challenges that contributed to my personal growth. The biggest challenge was managing conflict within the women’s circles, and feedback from individuals who did not feel they were receiving the maximum benefits of the circles. Collaborating with my supervisor, we created a lesson plan and activities on conflict and worries. With positive feedback from the participants, we concluded that the dynamic of the circles needed to change from purely conversational to a workshop approach, allowing the participants to take a lesson into practice. Through this, I learned the importance of conflict in order to grow. With open communication, we were able to create a meaningful experience for the participants, as well as a safe space for participants and facilitators to have open dialogue about improved practices.

)))My time with Proyecto Florecer made me realize the importance of holding space to talk about mental health, especially in Latino communities. There’s a lot of trauma and hurt that is often suppressed, affecting relationships and one’s sense of self-esteem and love. From the communities I spoke with, I discovered a great deal of intelligence and curiosity that require more space to facilitate learning and discussion. This experience encourages me to explore further opportunities for Latinos to engage in mental health education.

)))On a personal level, this experience helped me understand that conflict and discomfort are essential parts of growth, especially for social workers. As a future social worker, there is much to learn about working with communities who have gone through trauma. Community members know what they want, they just need the space and meditation to help navigate these different emotions. Creating more areas like this can help create a more united community and lead to growth in breaking generational trauma.