Rodrigo

Having grown up thousands of miles from California, Rodrigo felt like a fish out of water when he relocated there at age 15. Following his parents’ sudden death in South America, Rodrigo had no choice but to move to the Central Coast to live with his only remaining family member, his father’s brother, an uncle he’d never met. Everything about the move was difficult--Rodrigo was given no real time to process the sudden death of his parents or having to leave the only home and community he’d ever known. And everything about the US was different--people called him “Rog” instead of Rodrigo and they spoke in a language he didn’t understand, and everything--cars, TV shows, even the kids at school--seemed to move at a rapid pace that overwhelmed him. Unfortunately, Rodrigo’s uncle had no idea how to support him through all of these challenges. His uncle was kind, but distant, and admitted that he was ill equipped to meet Rodrigo’s needs. With no other options, Rodrigo was placed into foster care to receive critical support and stability.

After more than a year in foster care, Rodrigo felt ready for more independence. He had turned 17 and felt more adjusted to living in the US thanks to his team and foster parents. Rodrigo had been encouraged to continue his cultural traditions and to speak his preferred language at home and in team meetings because his foster care team and parents were Spanish-bilingual speakers. Feeling more understood and accepted helped Rodrigo be more open and engaging with services thus he reached many of his goals, including becoming more fluent in English. Rodrigo’s mental health was also improved while in care. He had been working with a bilingual therapist for several months to receive help processing all of the loss he’d experienced--the loss of his parents, his home, his country, and his sense of self. All of this support readied Rodrigo to pursue the next leg in his journey--adult independence. And FCNI’s Independent Living Program (ILP) was going to be a great first step toward Rodrigo’s new goals.

Even though Rodrigo had some barriers to overcome, his determination to develop stronger independent living skills made a huge difference in his progress--he was like a sponge, absorbing everything he could as quickly as he could. He attended every workshop offered and reached out to his ILP worker, Alma, on a regular basis to receive support, feedback, and direction when needed. He told Alma that his first goal was to get a part-time job, and he needed to learn how to dress and answer interview questions. Rodrigo shared that he was already thinking about his future career options. As an older youth who had immigrated to the US, Rodrigo had a lot of empathy for other kids in similar situations, and he knew he wanted to help them overcome all of the immigration barriers and challenges. To help Rodrigo explore career opportunities related to the field of immigration, Alma connected him with a volunteer Career Mentor who worked in immigration. Rodrigo loved the opportunity to pick his Career Mentor’s brain, and together they went over all of the different professions Rodrigo might look into if he wanted to help support other youth in their own immigration journey including what kind of degree might help. The time with the career mentor further ignited Rodrigo’s determination to finish high school and go to college with a new goal to study law. It also further encouraged him to keep working on his communication and relationship skills--he wanted to be able to appropriately put his empathy into action for his future clients.

Rodrigo, now 20, lives in his own apartment in one of FCNI’s housing complexes and still engages in ILP services. He enjoys getting to live around other youth who have overcome similar challenges as him and who are all working towards their goals of self-sufficiency. And getting to set up his own home has been a really self-confidence building activity for Rodrigo--he’s been able to further honor and uphold his family’s culture while also incorporating some of his new interests, like taking and hanging pictures of California’s landmarks and his friends’ hiking trips. He also recently hosted a traditional Guatemalan meal for his previous foster parents, utilizing some of his newest ILP skills; e.g., writing out a budget-appropriate shopping list for the ingredients, and then cooking everything himself by scratch. Rodrigo grows more confident and comfortable with his life every day--and every day he finds new inspiration to keep pushing toward his dreams.