Celebrating Hispanic Heritage: SAMU First Response Honored at 2024 Proclamation Ceremony

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SAMU First Response was honored to be invited and attend a special Hispanic Heritage month Proclamation Ceremony on Tuesday, September 24th on behalf of the Fairfax County Government. This event provided the opportunity to recognize and appreciate the diverse cultures, traditions, and contributions of the Hispanic community in the DMV area.

The ceremony began with some refreshments where local organizations were able to network and share with each other the outstanding work that they are currently doing with the Hispanic community in Fairfax County, VA. Some of the organizations in attendance were CASA Virginia, Centreville immigration Forum, Edu-Futoro, Consulates of various countries, HACAN, Juntos por Virgina, Meyer Foundation, Second Story, The Womens Center, and many others. The Board of Supervisors meeting at the Fairfax County Government held a panelist of speakers highlighted the importance of cultural representation in all areas of the communities that they serve. Jeffrey C. McKay who is Chairman said that “If we are not doing it in a culturally competent way, then we are not reaching those who need to be reached.”

The Hispanic community is the fasted growing demographic in Fairfax County and currently 200,000 Hispanic Americans call it home. The panelists highlighted the outstanding work that local organizations are doing to make sure that individuals are being reached in the way that they need to be. SAMU First Response celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the work that individuals have contributed to the community.

SAMU Arrives in Puerto Rico

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SAMU has arrived in Puerto Rico and has launched the program initiative Smile in Puerto Rico. This program is in collaboration with SAMU and Fundacion Atención Atención that is based in Puerto Rico. Two team members from the SAMU team in Spain have arrived in Puerto Rico this past week to replicate a program that is currently in Fundacion Atención Atención that is called La Hora de Juegos or The Hour of Play.

La Hora de Juegos is an intervention program that has been implemented in the public schools of Puerto Rico that focuses on using the form of play to reach children that are facing difficult life circumstances. This initiative works with creating spaces for psycho-emotional recovery in children after difficult events. It also works as a tool of prevention to help children acquire tools of resilience and socialization.

The program is designed so that trained professionals will go to schools around Puerto Rico for one hour a day and use play time and music to establish bonds of trust with the children, while working on processes of personal development, psychological introspection, and healthy socialization. Our team from Spain has been working with three different schools around Puerto Rico to provide spaces of healing. They begin their day at 7:00am where they attend three classes of children until 9:20am. After that, they move to the second school, where they teach two classes from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Finally, they arrive at the third school where they teach two classes from 1:30pm to 2:30pm.

Smile in Puerto Rico is a four-week program with SAMU that focuses on different personal development aspects each week. The first week focuses on creating skills of self-knowledge and self- concept. The second week focuses on establishing healthy social skills. The third week centers around autonomy and the ability for one’s own choices and independent decisions. And finally on the fourth week, concentrating on emotional and mental health. After the four weeks of La Hora Del Juegos, the aspiration is that the children will be able to acquire the tools of resilience and healthy socialization and apply those to their everyday lives.