How A Trusted Adult Can Make A Difference in the Life of An Unaccompanied Immigrant Child
By Catherine Kutney, Young Center Volunteer Child Advocate
My name is Katie Kutney and I am a high school English as a Second Language teacher. I have been working with immigrant students in schools for the past 13 years. I recently began volunteering with the Young Center as a Volunteer Child Advocate. I felt the need to do more to support our immigrant community with this new administration and the forthcoming changes to our immigration system. I knew how valuable it was to speak the native language of my students, so I wanted to use my Spanish to help other immigrants during their most vulnerable days.
Once I submitted my paperwork, and got my clearances, I waited for a case. I assumed I would be placed with an older child since I thought most unaccompanied minors were older kids. I was surprised to find that my first child would be a seven-year-old! My time working with him has been very rewarding. His trauma is deep, and despite that, he is always in a good mood and loves being silly. We play a lot of Uno and board games. We draw and color and play with action figures. We listen to music and talk about his likes and interests. Sometimes I feel like we are just playing, and that it isn’t so important, but then when we have to skip a session, he gets sad. He has started asking me how much more time we have left to stretch our time together. Recently he told me that when he gets to his family, he’s going to buy a cat and name it Katy like me.
The gratifying part of this work is that I can spend time becoming a trusted person for him. I have learned that immigration proceedings can take a very long time, and children will encounter many people throughout the process. Often these people are asking questions and requiring information about the most difficult time of the child’s life. It must be traumatic to continue replaying these moments for various adults.
The unique position of being a volunteer means that we can slowly get to know a child. We already have the background information and we don’t need to question them. We can start our relationship on a positive note. We see what makes the child anxious and what makes them happy. Over the four months that I have been working with my child, he has become much more open with me. He has told me about what he wants for himself. This new administration beats down immigrants daily. The prevailing message is that they are wrong, bad, and shouldn’t be here. Being a volunteer child advocate puts us in a position to help heal the wounds of this narrative. We can help immigrant children feel worthy and important in this world, despite what they see about themselves in the news and society. If you are considering becoming a volunteer child advocate, now is the time. Immigrant children need us now, more than ever. They need a trusted adult to accompany them through their challenging legal situation, and to help them maintain a sense of self-worth through it all.
I have a lot of hope for unaccompanied immigrant children. I want them to have dignity and feel worthy throughout their process. I want them to be treated humanely. I hope that they emerge from their situation safe, and stronger than before, with support to address their mental health. I want them to grow up happy, loved, safe, and able to help future generations of Americans see the benefits of having a diverse society. For unaccompanied immigrant children, I want the same things that I want for my own child.
