Build Power: Community Paralegals in Puerto Rico

As I write this brief report on our Community Paralegals Legal Empowerment Project, I pause and reflect on the meaning of the word "trust." We are fastly approaching the 18th month's benchmark of this program, an initiative nurtured by the support and experience of community leaders and lawyers. The continuous relationship - meeting in the same place throughout these months, always on Saturday mornings, always sharing coffee or food - has solidified bonds based on togetherness. As participants return to workshops on climate & housing justice, share their stories, and obtain knowledge of basic legal concepts and processes, narratives of precarity start weaving with building power capacities. Together, we created a safe place. Together, we created a place to develop trust. Amidst human rights violations, the constant threat of displacements, and constant government-sponsored neglect of the communities' demands, the power and enthusiasm we feel among community paralegals is a gift.

The second cohort groups more than 20 people, doubling the first one. While most participants were new members of the Community Paralegals Program, four leaders who actively participated in the first round returned to engage as outreach liaisons and experimented with navigators of the know, use, and shape of the law curriculum. At this moment, we just finished the first part: discussing democracy, rights, legal systems, and rule-making. Now, we are engaging with the topics the community identified as priorities. Within the two main issues - climate and housing justice- it's time to talk about mitigation, floods, and community access. Security of tenure has also become a focus. Conversations are becoming increasingly complex because that is the nature of unmet legal needs and social injustice. This space has been able to hold people safe.

Thanks to your support, this second round will not last only a few weeks, as we preciously expected/feared. We are happy to say that we made a budget to ensure this will last till the end of the peak hurricane season (September). During the following weeks, community paralegals will learn about storytelling, interviews for complaint procedures, and more. They will also host a radio program and a panel. The keynote of our in-person IV Towards a Just Recovery Summit will be a beloved community leader and participant.

As this project sustains itself, we know trust has multiple roads. We are happy to have found a nurturing home among paralegals at El Ancón, Loíza. We are grateful for their trust, and we trust the power of their experiences, struggles, and wins. As well, and because you have made this possible, we are grateful for your trust.

Links:

• IV Towards a Just Recovery Summit (In Person, PR 4-5 August)