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Promotion of Cultural Identity Key in Servicing Hispanic Young People, Report Says

In a recent report, The National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute (NLFFI) announced that it will be expanding its La Cultura Cura Healing Generations program, which seeks the “transformation of systems from trauma to healing informed efforts” for Hispanic boys and young men.

The organization, a division of the National Compadres Network, said that it would continue to promote its “culturally-rooted” response program, focusing on capacity building projects and a greater provider network. The report, titled “Lifting Latinos Up By Their ‘Rootstraps:’ Moving Beyond Trauma Through A Healing-Informed Framework for Latino Boys and Men,” outlines several suggestions to improve culturally-based programs, as well as strategies for developing new ones.

According to NLFFI, researchers have often neglected and overlooked the distinctive origins and nature of trauma for young Hispanic people. The report says that a multigenerational foundation is needed, so that Hispanic young people develop a firmer sense of cultural identity.

Among the programmatic recommendations listed in the report are the creation of frameworks that emphasize resiliency building and promoting “natural opportunity factors,” the development of models that directly address chronic traumatic stress disorder in young Hispanics and the promotion of parental involvement in school systems. The report also lists numerous systematic recommendations, including the reformation of potentially discriminatory cultural proficiency standards and the introduction of “cultural humility” education in public schools.

“Race matters, but it is culture and its associated traditions that truly defines a person’s and group’s identity and strongly influences the well-being of individuals, families and communities,” the report reads. “Accounting for one’s true culture and spirituality is a foundational element in assessment and healing processes when working with and assessing the needs of Latino and Native populations.”

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