NMILC Intern Helps Immigrants Navigate & Access Community & Government Resource Systems
By: Delaney Swink / NMILC Volunteer & Development Coordinator & Flaviano Graciano / NMILC Communications Manager
As a social work intern with the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center’s (NMILC) Survivor Advancement Program, Oscar Corral has had a meaningful impact on the lives of many of our clients. Corral interned at NMILC to fulfill the 400-hour practicum component of his Masters of Social Work (MSW) program at Loyola University Chicago. This month, Oscar completed his practicum at NMILC and is moving on to another site.
Since last August, Oscar has worked in close collaboration with NMILC’s Pathways Navigators, Sonia Ramirez and Ivonne Aguirre, who refer clients to him to help them access social services. NMILC is part of the Pathways to a Healthy Bernalillo County program which focuses on teaching clients how to navigate community and government resource systems on their own and empower them to advocate for themselves moving forward. Pathway Navigators provide culturally-competent case management to NMILC clients as part of NMILC’s mission to provide holistic services in addition to trauma-informed legal assistance and representation.
“At NMILC, I work on providing social services to our clients. I complete needs assessments, which allow me to identify their needs, barriers, and limitations, whether they are survivors of crimes or in need of eviction prevention support,” Carlos said. “Being bilingual [in Spanish and English] helps me open doors with the clients to have these conversations about their needs.”
Oscar’s own experiences and innate ability to connect with individuals inspire his goal to be an independent social worker providing social services to immigrants, people with developmental disabilities, and adolescents/families. Corral moved to the U.S. from his home of Agua Prieta, Mexico in 2006 to work at the Mexican Consulate in Albuquerque. He worked there for five years, and later worked at the New Mexico Developmental Disabilities Supports Division (DDSD). Oscar’s experience working at the Mexican Consulate and DDSD prior to NMILC helped him learn a lot about immigration law and resources available to disabled people, such as medicaid.
“As a future social worker, it’s important to become that bridge for immigrants who lack resources and services so they can open up and feel free to express their needs, to be able to support them in a better way. As immigrants, it’s great that they can be referred to the NMILC to get holistic information on free immigration services and resources through the Pathways program,” Oscar stated.
Oscar noted that the most gratifying part of the work is the conversations he has with clients. He said it can be challenging to encourage clients to open up to him as a stranger, make a distinction between the legal work and social work, and explain his role as a social work intern. However, in his more than 9 months at NMILC, Oscar said he found that people eventually would open up and feel comfortable explaining their needs to him. He said this is the part he enjoyed the most of his internship.
“I’m so grateful for everyone at NMILC: the staff, all the clients, and my fellow volunteers. I always felt like part of the team. I feel so grateful for the kindness and warmth of ‘todo el equipo aquí’. I hope I touched the hearts of our clients and was able to provide what they were looking for,” Oscar said.
Now, Oscar still has one more year of his MSW program, which will include a clinical practicum at another site. Our NMILC team is very grateful for Oscar’s work with our community and wish him the best of luck on all of his next steps!
Delaney Swink is NMILC’s Volunteer & Development Coordinator & Flaviano Graciano is NMILC’s Communications Manager.
Posted May 12, 2022 by Delaney Swink, Volunteer & Development Coordinator & Flaviano Graciano, Communications Manager
Photographs by Lydia Philips, Creative Strategist
