Across our coalition, member organizations are doing the powerful, often unacknowledged work of supporting survivors, advocating for justice, and holding space for community healing. At the heart of this work is the legacy of cultural care—ritual, art, language, ceremony, and connection—that our communities have long used to resist violence and restore dignity.
This spring, the University of Washington School of Social Work’s Field Education Advisory Committee (FEAC) hosted an end-of-year appreciation event to celebrate the incredible mentorship provided by MSW practicum instructors—many of whom are based within our very own member organizations. The gathering recognized the time, wisdom, and guidance our colleagues have offered to emerging social workers throughout the academic year.
Part of the session was facilitated by CEGV’s Trauma and Behavioral Health Manager, Nykki Cañete, who has also served as Co-Chair of FEAC for the last 2 years. Nykki guided participants through a hands-on paper flower making activity and facilitated a reflection on the ways in which cultural traditions and neuroscience intersect to support healing, resistance, and community care.
“Every flower made that day was a quiet revolution—a reminder that beauty, memory, and care survive, that we carry ancestral knowledge in our hands, and that healing and joy are forms of protest.”
Cultural Care Is Not New—It’s Ancestral
For many of our organizations, cultural care is not an “add-on”—it’s core. We’ve long woven traditional community-based healing practices, storytelling, movement, music, food, and connection into our services. These ways of knowing have helped generations of survivors reclaim agency, reconnect with community, and feel whole again.
Workshops like this one, rooted in cultural practice, affirm what we’ve always known: that care is political, that creativity is healing, and that community is essential. They also highlight ways in which collaboration with universities and larger systems can honor and elevate these traditions—not dilute or replace them.
Why Hosting MSW Practicum Students Matters
Many of our membership organizations are already nurturing the next generation of gender-based violence advocates through practicum placements. For those who are curious or considering deepening that commitment, here’s what MSW students can bring to your organization:
- Expanded Capacity: Students assist with direct services—support groups, advocacy, outreach, hotline support—enhancing staff capacity and reaching more community members.
- Fresh Insight: Students bring evolving classroom knowledge about trauma, systemic oppression, and evidence-based practice—and often raise critical questions that spark organizational growth.
- Workforce Development: Practicum is a pipeline. Many students become long-term staff members who arealready grounded in your values and approach.
- Support with Evaluation and Data: Many MSW students are trained in program evaluation, helping organizations gather the data needed to secure funding and demonstrate impact.
- Mutual Learning: Field instruction is a two-way exchange. Students learn from and also contribute new perspectives anda commitment to survivor-centered, liberatory practice.
Looking Ahead
As a coalition, we know that ending gender-based violence takes more than services—it takes relationships, shared leadership, and long-term investment in the people who will carry this work forward. MSW partnerships are one powerful way to do that. When we open our doors to students, we’re not just mentoring—we’re growing the future of this movement.
Thank you to all our coalition members who have served as field instructors, cultural guides, and mentors this year. Your care shapes not only your clients and students—but also the field itself.
Interested in Hosting a Student or Deepening Your Partnership? Connect with Nykki and/or reach out to the UW School of Social Work Field Education Office. Let’s continue building a movement that is creative, sustainable, and rooted in community wisdom.
Learn more about student experiences in a practicum placement here.