This time on the ReRooted podcast, Francesca is joined by Héctor Sánchez-Flores for a discussion around cultivating a deeper connection with our community.
Héctor Sánchez-Flores is the executive director of the National Compadres Network (NCN). He leads the NCN’s work to promote methods that build upon the cultural and personal assets of people and communities, especially for young men of color, to intervene and prevent violence, truancy, teen pregnancy and other life-limiting outcomes for children, teens, and their families. NCN currently operates in numerous program areas, with the support of federal, state or private grants.
Prior to joining NCN, Héctor served for 12 years as a senior research associate with the Institute for Healthy Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco. He also oversaw the development of innovative prevention programs that engaged diverse segments of the community and stakeholders in Santa Barbara County. Hector is author/co-author of the brown paper “Lifting Latinos Up By Their ‘Rootstraps:’ Moving Beyond Trauma Through A Healing-Informed Framework for Latino Boys and Men.“ Learn about the work done by the National Compadres Network and how you can get involved at nationalcompadresnetwork.org.
Remembering Where We Come From
Héctor shares his personal story and how he discovered the importance of the connection between ourselves, our family and our community at an early age. Francesca and Héctor talk about how we can get disconnected from our who we are as we grow in the world. How can we wake up to this loss of self and reconnect to ourselves?
“I went into the Western education system and they began to teach me a lot of things that I utilize in my professional realm right now. But what happened was that I had to rediscover the parts of me that were not being taught in school.” – Héctor Sánchez-Flores
Reconnecting – Roots and All (15:25)
How can we work through the layers of separation that we develop from one another? Héctor and Francesca explore ways that we can break down the invisible walls that divide us. They speak about the work that Héctor and the National Compadres Network do to teach young people to connect with their roots and give them the skills they need to connect with others and build community.
“If you can live that way, with integrity, then you will make mistakes – but when you do there will be a pathway to correct, because you have relationships with people and accountability.” – Héctor Sánchez-Flores
Family, Community, and Vision (37:10)
To flourish in our communities we need to adopt a clear perspective about the true potential that lies within ourselves and our community. Francesca and Héctor look at how a negative view of ourselves or a pessimistic outlook on our community can erode away our ability to take responsibility and deal with life’s struggles.
Explore the things that make us whole with Konda Mason and Raghu Markus on Ep.329 of the Mindrolling Podcast
