UA Social Work Seeks to Connect Hispanic Families with Resources

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The annual Hispanic Heritage Colloquium at The University of Alabama’s School of Social Work is a celebration of culture, but it’s one with a new mission: to connect Hispanic families with resources and agencies.

Dr. Tania Alameda-Lawson, who joined the faulty in the School of Social Work in the summer, and Dr. Javonda Williams sought to enhance this year’s colloquium by adding additional Q&A sessions with speakers and an expanded celebration of Hispanic music and culture, but they’ve also organized a fresh component of the series: an agency fair to help agencies connect with one another, but also with Hispanic residents in the Tuscaloosa area.

The School of Social Work’s efforts will culminate in a revamped Fall Colloquium Series in room 104 of Little Hall on Sept. 28.

The schedule will begin with the agency fair at 9 a.m. in the break room of Little Hall. Representatives from the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, Somos Tuskaloosa, and Voces de los Padres, among others, will have information about legal services, public education and immigration.

The event is free and open to the public.

“There are some agencies that are trying to provide services to the Hispanic community, but it’s difficult because doing outreach to the Hispanic community is difficult,” Alameda-Lawson said.

“There are also very limited Spanish-speaking providers in the community. So getting HICA, and grassroots organizations in Tuscaloosa, like Somos, involved in the agency fair and Q and A is extremely helpful in that mission.

“While there are pressing needs, like Spanish-speaking mental health counselors, there are simpler, more community member-based activities, like organized sports for children, that many Hispanic families don’t know about.”

At noon, Josh Medina and Vanessa Stevens, program coordinators for HICA, will deliver a lecture titled “Guerilla Advocacy in The South: Challenges and Triumphs in Immigrant Rights” in room 104 of Little Hall.

Immediately following the lecture, students and community members can participate in a Q-and-A session with Medina and Stevens and agency members. The day will conclude with a celebration of Hispanic music and cuisine, which will begin at 2 p.m. in room 104.

“The thing I want the most for my students is to learn more about the Hispanic culture and learn about the strengths and assets that the culture has, and to learn about the resiliency,” Alameda-Lawson said.

“For many people that don’t know the culture, they know perhaps what they see in the news, and that’s not generally uplifting. The great majority of the people are very resourceful and entrepreneurial. I want my students to learn that.”

The 2015 Fall Colloquium Series will continue Oct. 12 when Dr. Bruce Tyler, professor and former dean of the College of Social Work at Florida State University, delivers “Evidence-based Practice: Myths and Misconceptions” in Room 104 of Little Hall.