Supporter Spotlight: Barrie Landry

At the Young Center, we are fortunate to have committed supporters who have made our work possible for years. Barrie Landry is among our most dedicated champions.

Tell us how you learned about the Young Center. Why and how did you get involved with the Young Center initially?
Barrie Landry: I got involved with the Young Center in 2017 after asking Sasha Chanoff, Founder and Executive Director of RefugePoint, an organization working to find lasting solutions for at-risk refugees, what organization he thought did the best work in the United States to help support vulnerable children’s rights and their best interests. Without a moment’s hesitation, he responded, the Young Center. I then made a call to the Young Center and ended up having a warm and engaging conversation with Jennifer Nagda, their Policy Director, about their work. 

Two weeks later, Jennifer invited me to a one-day conference at Yale University where she talked about our failed “immigration system, designed for adults but harmful for children.” Jennifer explained to me that this is the work of the Young Center, to advocate for the most vulnerable children as they seek protection, which is their legal right. Presently, these children have no right to counsel, and often end up having to defend themselves in court, by themselves, children as young as three. These children are often separated from their families, creating debilitating trauma that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. The Young Center addresses this harmful practice by advocating for changes in policy and law to protect children’s legal rights. 

What has your involvement been like?
Barrie Landry: My involvement has been a real partnership where we share our common values to ensure that the best interest of the child is served. I feel the partnership has been collaborative, focused, and based on shared values. I have enjoyed meeting members of the Young Center's team and learning more about the nuances of their work. During a trip to Harlingen, I met with Olivia Peña and the rest of the staff there at work with young children in immigration court. It was inspiring to see the level of care Young Center staff show in handling each child's case and ensuring that they are seen as an individual and as a child.

What is one thing you’d like everyone to know about the Young Center?
Barrie Landry: I want them to know how spectacular, how driven, how committed, and how caring each person at the Young Center is as they work fiercely to make the immigration system more just and humane, especially for the children. I love how they work so collaboratively with other organizations, such as UNICEF and RefugePoint, to be better positioned to protect our most vulnerable children.

Your support has made an incredible impact on our work, allowing us to help more children to make sure they don’t face the inhumane immigration system by themselves. How do you feel knowing the difference you’ve made?
Barrie Landry: It feels wonderful to work with an organization that seeks to find humane and healthy solutions to the crisis on the border. It is incredibly satisfying to know that some of my funding will help the lawyers and social workers at the Young Center take on additional cases of separated children in order to reunite them with their families. Separating children from their families is unconscionable and will traumatize children forever. This is not representative of who we want to be. Funding the position of a Monitoring and Evaluation consultant also felt like an important contribution as it helps the Young Center to communicate their impact better with their funders and stakeholder to draw more support as well as adapt their programming to achieve greatest impact.

What’s your dream for immigrant children? 
Barrie Landry: My dream for immigrant children is that they can more easily seek refuge in another country when they need to flee poverty or violence. Each child should be given the opportunity to live a safe and secure life where their potential can be reached.

 Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Barrie Landry: Nelson Mandela said, “there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” How we all respond to this crisis at the border will determine our children’s future.