Puerto Rican social worker in Florida highlights voting as tool for mental health advocacy in schools

Iván Díaz has seen how the Republican government wants to cut funding for mental health programs in public schools.

As a social worker, Iván Díaz sees the need for mental health services in schools every day.

Originally from Humacao, Puerto Rico, Díaz moved to Florida in 2018, following a medical recommendation. He had been living in New York for 15 years, but the cold was affecting him after beating cancer.

Looking for warmer climates, he settled in Orlando.

“The change has been quite drastic. Although the cost of living in New York is high, the salaries are compatible with the cost of living. Rent, transportation, food, all of that is high, but the salary makes up for it,” Díaz told Floricua.  “Moving here, my salary decreased to three times less than what I earned in New York. And comparing the cost of living in Orlando and New York, it is quite similar. It was a financial blow to begin with.”

Díaz said that even though finding a good job was difficult, fortunately, he landed a position as a clinical social worker for the  Central Florida Mental Health Association eight months ago.

“I am a therapist with them, running two programs with teenagers and children, offering family therapy, individual therapy for the children,” Díaz explained.  “And I am running another educational program, where I provide psychoeducational services, for the parents of those children, for the children, and at the same time we offer them case management.”

The social worker also has extensive experience in community work in Orlando and as a chaplain.

All of these experiences have helped him internalize how important it is for the community to get involved in the voting process.

Díaz admits that in the past he was not that interested in voting because he did not find the candidates’ platforms attractive. He voted in one election in Puerto Rico and another in New York, and this is the first time he will vote in Florida.

“This year I am very motivated. I am energized to cast my vote, because I have realized that change does not happen from afar. You have to know how to work within politics, in order to be able to bring about changes that benefit society and the community,” Díaz said.

Some of the main issues driving Díaz to the polls are the cost of living, housing, and education.

In his experience, he has seen how the Republican government wants to cut funding for mental health programs in public schools. This is happening as children are dealing with many challenges, including gun violence in schools. One of the deadliest school shootings in the US was at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed and 17 wounded in 2018.

“[Public schools] connect us and contact us to bring our services to schools. And more so in these times with the issue of bullying, which is proliferating. The misuse of the cyber system has also captivated the minds and has monopolized the activities of children and adolescents,” Díaz said. “And those are the areas that public schools contact us to work with. And it seems to me that politics should also take responsibility for this matter.”

The Republican administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed policies that attack diversity and undermine the rights of the LGBTQ community and other minorities.

As part of the administration’s book ban, in 2023, a biographical book by Roberto Clemente was removed from Duval County public schools, as were other books about Latino figures such as the late Afro-Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz and Puerto Rican Justice Sonia Sotomayor, over discrimination references.

It was precisely community pressure that helped get the books restored.

“As long as we don’t address the vulnerability of society, things won’t improve,” Díaz said.

RELATED: A Puerto Rican mom in Orlando has a message for Latinos: Vote for our future