California’s Immigrant Teenagers Discover Therapeutic in Surprising Locations

By Lauren DeLaunay Miller and Isaac Ceja

A younger girl, 19, sits in a director’s chair and watches as her face mirrored within the mirror slowly transforms. Her eyelids at the moment are various shades of purple and her lips, a deep magenta.

She closes her eyes once in a while and stays nonetheless whereas the make-up artist works with the precision of a Renaissance painter, utilizing totally different brushes, sponges and colours to finish her murals. Right here, within the basement of a big convention house close to downtown Los Angeles, the 2 younger ladies are experimenting with therapeutic and forming neighborhood in unconventional methods.

On today in early December 2024, the 2 ladies, who requested that their names be withheld because of their immigration standing, are at a gathering with dozens of different immigrant youngsters and younger adults in downtown Los Angeles hosted by a company known as Group Justice Alliance. Based in 2018, the group focuses on representing unaccompanied youngsters which have come to the U.S. with no mother or father or guardian.

Serving to migrant youngsters adapt

Greater than 10,000 unaccompanied youth have entered California every year since 2020, most of them leaving violence or insecurity in Mexico and Central America. After arriving in the US, their paths differ, however the majority are held briefly by Customs and Border Safety earlier than being launched to prolonged members of the family or foster houses.

After launch, these youngsters typically search authorized help to struggle deportation orders, request asylum or file claims for Particular Immigrant Juvenile Standing, a authorized standing that protects youth who’ve been abused, deserted or uncared for. Group Justice Alliance supplies authorized help however has additionally realized that the youngsters they signify want greater than that. The vast majority of the youngsters have suffered from trauma and wish psychological well being help. Many additionally need assistance connecting with colleges, medical suppliers, medical insurance and language training.

One thing else Group Justice Alliance employees observed is that a lot of their shoppers really feel alone of their experiences and don’t really feel protected sharing them with others of their new communities. So, in the previous few years, the group started internet hosting occasions the place their shoppers from throughout the state might get collectively to attach of their shared experiences and with friends from their residence international locations. Occasions vary from soccer meetups to visiting iconic California landmarks like Yosemite Nationwide Park and Disneyland, offering a possibility for contributors to heal by spending time with different unaccompanied minors.

Jessica Emigdio, the alliance’s youth mentor, spent months assembly weekly with the group’s shoppers, studying about their wants and pursuits. She drew from that data to plan actions for the convention heart occasion in December, which introduced collectively greater than 40 younger folks ages 11 to 22. Along with the make-up demonstration, there was a poetry workshop hosted by native Salvadoran-American poet Yesika Salgado, a sound therapeutic expertise, and a hangout space with bean luggage the place a huddle of boys performed FIFA soccer video video games on an enormous display screen TV. A crowd of teenage ladies surrounded the make-up artist as she demonstrated her wide-ranging expertise, selecting from a rainbow palette to match every woman’s requests. Her work appeared easy, however it was the results of a love affair with make-up that has spanned greater than a decade.

A teenage make-up artist’s journey

The make-up artist, who we’re calling Elena to guard her id, fell in love with make-up when she was 7 years outdated. Whereas her mom was at work, Elena would sneak into her mom’s make-up stash, making an attempt on the cosmetics earlier than anybody might see. At age 15, she enrolled in magnificence faculty to pursue her ardour and ultimately grew to become well-known for her artistry in her hometown of El Aguaje, within the state of Michoacán, Mexico, she mentioned. Make-up was not only a ardour however a solution to categorical herself. “It feels like you can pour out your emotions and free yourself like birds in cages that want to escape and be free,” Elena mentioned.

Regardless of her successes, the make-up artist mentioned she handled the hazards of residing in a city the place cartels fought over management of the world. The latest Mexican census information from 2020 confirmed that solely 2,550 inhabitants of the 15,000 that there lived in El Aguaje within the Nineties remained.

When Elena was 17, she left together with her brother and 22 different relations. Her dad and mom stayed behind.

On the U.S. border, Elena and her relations have been handcuffed and questioned. As soon as they mentioned they have been looking for asylum, all have been let go aside from Elena and her brother as a result of they have been thought-about unaccompanied minors. The siblings remained in custody on the border for eight days till different relations, who have been U.S. residents, agreed to take them in.

Elena and her brother settled with prolonged household in Fresno. A number of months later, their dad and mom have been capable of be a part of them within the U.S. At first, issues have been nice: they have been protected, and collectively. However two years into her life within the U.S., the difficulties of adjusting to life in a brand new nation caught up with the teenage woman. She struggled to course of what she had been by. Her make-up provides, she mentioned, sat on a shelf, gathering mud.

Reclaiming id

Group Justice Alliance Government Director Kristina McKibben-Sias mentioned that whereas there’s not a number of well being information on unaccompanied youth particularly, her expertise has proven her that “we are just barely starting to scratch the surface in understanding their integration experience.”

McKibben-Sias and her staff have discovered it useful to combine the framework of Opposed Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, when they’re working with unaccompanied youth. ACE scores are calculated primarily based on a 10-question survey and ask about abuse, neglect and family dysfunction confronted as a toddler. In keeping with McKibben-Sias, nearly all of the youth they work with rating extremely, which may put them at elevated threat for numerous long-lasting well being impacts like persistent illnesses, substance dependency, intimate companion violence and even early demise. Unaccompanied minors “are at risk of psychological stress and consequently may develop symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress,” in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics.

And but, McKibben-Sias has hope. “Something we have learned from the young people we work with is how elastic mental health support can be,” she mentioned. Along with skilled psychological well being care, the group has acknowledged that their shoppers want youth-led therapeutic alternatives as properly. “Just like any of us, many are searching for a space where they can relax their shoulders,” mentioned McKibben-Sias. “Not a space where they have to explain their journey, but a space where they can play. A space where they have an artistic and spiritual outlet.”

When deciding what actions to incorporate in final December’s gathering, McKibben-Sias hoped that showcasing inventive expression might assist different younger folks discover their creativity.

“Makeup is more than cosmetics,” Emigdio mentioned. “It’s a form of control in an unpredictable world. For youth who have experienced trauma, experimenting with makeup offers a safe way to reclaim their identity and express emotions without words. It fosters confidence, creativity and self-discovery, helping them process their experiences in a deeply personal way, regardless of what language they speak.”

Again on the make-up stand, Elena and her younger consumer take a look at one another within the mirror and smile.

“It was incredible,” the teenage buyer mentioned after. “No one’s ever done that for me.”

“Beyond self-expression, makeup creates community,” Emigdio, the youth mentor, mentioned. “Sharing beauty routines builds trust and connection, allowing youth to bond over something positive rather than their struggles. In a world where they often feel invisible, makeup provides visibility — allowing them to be seen on their own terms.”

This story was created as a part of the Answer Journalism Community’s HEAL Fellowship on youth psychological well being.

This text first appeared on California Well being Report and is republished right here beneath a Artistic Commons license. CHR LOGO SOCIAL%403x 100 PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: operate() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://www.calhealthreport.org/2025/03/11/californias-immigrant-teens-find-healing-in-unexpected-places/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } }

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Beforehand Revealed on calhealthreport.org with Artistic Commons License

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