Becoming water: Liberatory social work interventions for Latine communities in uncertain times
Thu, Mar 19
|Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Convertirse en agua: Intervenciones de trabajo social liberadoras para comunidades Latinas en tiempos de incertidumbre
Time & Location
Mar 19, 2026, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Inter American University of Puerto Rico, 100 C. Francisco Seín, San Juan, 00927, Puerto Rico
Summary
Presenter: Jessica Rodriguez-JenKins, PhD, LICSW, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Portland State University
This workshop centers liberatory, decolonial social work practices that honor Latine cultural values such as la familia, relationality, and collective well-being. It emphasizes the micro, mezzo, and macro connections necessary to meet the urgent needs of Latine communities today. Through reflection and dialogue participants will explore how to recenter their work, engage in coalition building, and sustain resistance through community organizing, radical care, and multiple forms of protest.
In this workshop the presenter will hold space for rage, grief, and hope as valid responses to oppression and the environmental contexts Latinx/e are confronted with while offering somatic and relational tools for nervous system regulation, collective resilience, and intergenerational healing.