Volunteer independent Child Advocates are the heart of our work at the Young Center. Without them, we wouldn’t be able to reach the number of children we serve each year. Our volunteer Child Advocates meet with the children they are assigned to every week, listen to their stories, accompany them throughout their immigration proceedings, and help us fight for their rights and best interests. In 2020, 304 volunteers were appointed as Child Advocate for 413 children seeking safety in the United States. They contributed more than 4,420 hours of their time accompanying the children and advocating for their best interests. Bernie Salazar is one of them.

A few years ago, I was confronted with a breaking news story featuring a little girl who was being detained alongside her mother at the Mexico-U.S. border. She was crying out for her mother. The fear in her face was unforgettable. I was struck by how much that little girl resembled my daughter Bennett who was napping safely in the next room.

I couldn’t stop thinking of her journey and the thousands of children like her, the risks they’d taken, the terrain they’d traversed, the bravery demanded of them, often times to escape unimaginable hardship and move toward nothing more than hope.

I surely wasn’t the only person feeling helpless as I witnessed the injustices of family separation and children’s detention at border facilities unfolding. But what could I really do? That’s when through some research and an introduction by a friend, I was connected to AJ Albinak, a staff member at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights. Working out of Chicago, AJ met with me and shared the work the Young Center was doing to champion for the rights and best interests of unaccompanied and forcibly separated immigrant children.

AJ told me about the Young Center’s volunteer Child Advocate Program which allows people to accompany a child in government custody through their immigration proceedings and help Young Center staff fight for their best interests. I signed up not only because it felt like a tangible way to make a difference in the life of a child or because I come from a family of immigrants. I signed up because we have to look at all children as our own children. If we did that, no child would be unsafe, no child would be denied safety, no child would be left to fend for themselves.

Through the Young Center, I have been able to work with two children. In the process, I’ve gotten to know each child for who they are and appreciate their incredible spirit. Serving as a volunteer Child Advocate has also allowed me to assist Young Center staff, who are working hard to ensure that the safety and best interest of immigrant children remain at the forefront. Witnessing the Young Center’s commitment to making the world a safer place for children gives me hope that immigrant children will one day be treated with the dignity and care that all children deserve.