Fernanda Cross Speaks with WXYZ Detroit About Supporting Immigrant Students
October 3, 2024
Assistant Professor Fernanda Cross spoke with WXYZ Detroit about how her own experience as an immigrant inspired the creation of the Latinx Youth Empowerment Series, also known as YES, which connects immigrant students at Ypsilanti Community High School with mental health services.
“Immigrating is difficult. The children are having to do a lot of the navigating the new culture. They’re navigating the new language for the parents as they are learning the language themselves,” Cross said. “For the adolescents that come from undocumented parents, there’s always this constant fear of getting separated from the family, having one of the caregivers deported or being deported themselves in case the adolescents,” she said. “These students were very likely never going to see a provider if it had not been for these groups.”
YES has been so successful that the Michigan Health Endowment Foundation is funding six additional groups over the next two years.
