Volunteering with Unaccompanied Immigrant Children to Help them Find an Embracing Environment

Priscila Marroquin is a Young Center volunteer based in Chicago whose unwavering devotion to supporting immigrant children stems largely from her personal experiences coming to the United States as an undocumented child. When Priscila was six, she traveled from Guatemala to the U.S. with her mom and brother. For 15 years, Priscila lived her life in the U.S. undocumented. Her status left her feeling isolated and lonely, and as a child, she often told herself she had to become invisible.

Later, after becoming a graduate student at DePaul University, Priscila was introduced to the Young Center through one of her teachers. She was quickly drawn to the Young Center’s mission and eager to support children whose experiences being in a new country she felt were a lot like her own. “My hope for children is that they find safety and they find an embracing environment,” Priscila said.

Like many Young Center volunteers, Priscila has been instrumental in creating that “embracing environment” for children in federal custody. She has been volunteering with the Young Center for two years and currently works full-time as a therapist. In the past, she has been appointed to several children from Central America, including a child from her home country of Guatemala who she bonded with over a common love for Guatemalan food. She has spent her visits with children getting to know them, listening to them, and trying to piece back the parts of their childhood that too often get stripped away when they are held in federal facilities.

“I was nervous at first to be a volunteer, but I realized it’s just about showing up and being consistent” Priscila said. Reflecting on her own childhood, Priscila still remembers the people who left a lasting impact on her even as a 6-year-old. “It might just be a couple of months you’re meeting with a child, but the impact you can have on their life is so important.”

Priscila is especially grateful for the support she’s had from the Young Center’s staff attorney in Chicago, Tatiana Alonso, who Priscila described as being “the exact right amount of force” that’s necessary to advocate for children’s rights.