Build Power: Community Paralegals in Puerto Rico

This month marks the first anniversary of our Community Paralegals program, and we are ready to celebrate with you. As we wrap up this cycle, we want to share key learning gathered along the way with you.

1. Communities want and are entitled to knowing their rights: During the first 2/3 of this experience, participants participated in legal workshops where they learned about the system of law, rights, regulations, and legal procedures. The experience of obtaining accessible legal information and materials was nurtured by the stories of community participants who served as history guardians and storytellers, who illustrated communities' relationship with actual legal barriers or issues. We became more aware and accountable by actively listening to them, pivoting our strategies in other localities to adjust to the reality voiced by these community stakeholders.

2. Communities want and are entitled to defend their rights: After the education phase, paralegals started developing the capacity to decide a legal issue to tackle and advance their common goals. Issues such as flooding and title clearance are at the top. Now, participants present access to information requests as a groundwork for the legal and advocacy actions to come. This phase is ongoing.

3. Advocacy, in the hands of communities, always wins- We want to highlight how Community Paralegals – together with Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico- hosted an official site visit of the United States Civil Rights Commission. Paralegals set up a space, invited other community stakeholders, and prepared testimonies that shared their experience in the aftermath of Hurricane María, as well as demands voiced in human rights terms. Issues of housing, climate justice, and the right to just recovery were amplified. We were able to see and hear how the trust and capacity-building processes carried out during the program had a tangible impact on the petitions of access to remedies.

On March 18, 2022, we will meet at El Ancón to celebrate and close this loop. We plan to continue working with these paralegals and invite others to join. We know the impact of law in the hands of communities regarding housing, climate, and land justice is irrefutable. If you know groups in Loíza that would love to learn more about the program contact us at recuperacionjusta@ayudalegalpr.org. Meanwhile, remember to donate and continue promoting this project. Every contribution is significant.