A place where youth move forward

New Beginnings Program Supports Health And Safety Of Young Immigrants

The New Beginnings program at Ascension Holy Family hospital in Des Plaines, Illinois, supports a less traditional, often overlooked portion of the U.S. homeless population: immigrant youth and unaccompanied minors.

Teresa Del Toro, BSN, RN, Nurse Manager, and her team have supported the health and safety of more than 1,500 immigrant youth, many of whom are in desperate need of shelter, medical attention, physical and emotional support, and an opportunity to move forward.

“They are children who want to live a better life, a normal life,” Teresa said. “They want to go to school and be someone. Many of them come with heavy hearts and think, ‘I’ve really got to work hard to take care of my family that’s left behind.’”

Since 2017, Ascension Holy Family has worked with Maryville, which houses unaccompanied minors ages 12 to 17 and provides essential services through New Beginnings’ pediatric component Youth Moving Forward, or Jóvenes Adelante.

As the name suggests, Youth Moving Forward helps immigrant youth find healthy pathways to safety, transitional shelter and family reunification. Teresa and the New Beginnings team are the first stop for youth before they begin rebuilding their lives at Maryville.

“There are children who have had limited schooling, or who haven’t seen one parent for 10 years because they are here in the United States while the other was left behind in their home country,” Teresa said. “They may have psychological and mental health issues because of the poverty, harsh conditions and limited resources they had.”

The collaboration between New Beginnings and Youth Moving Forward addresses such barriers, anticipates the physical and emotional needs of children who have traveled without the physical protection of their families, and preserves the human dignity of each child. New Beginnings also provides primary care services for youth housed at Maryville.

“The mandatory health screenings we provide help make sure they are safe to be sheltered at Maryville. If there is an issue, we address it,” Teresa said. “If we need to send them to specialists or get them to the next level of care, that’s what we do.”

The New Beginnings team supports immigrant youth from various countries including Afghanistan and Ukraine, but because the majority of children served are Hispanic or Latin American, the Spanish-speaking ability of the entire team makes them more effective as liaisons between the children and Maryville, which works closely with the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

“All of our New Beginnings staff speak Spanish, so language barriers are not often an issue here,” Teresa said. “We meet the children where they are and establish a level of trust.”

Besides building trust and effective communication, Teresa attributes the program’s success to her team’s dedication to Ascension’s Mission commitment to compassionately serve those who are poor and vulnerable and to the ABIDE hallmarks of Appreciation - Belongingness - Inclusivity - Diversity - Equity.

“The goals of New Beginnings and Youth Moving Forward align with our Mission because we see patients of all cultures and make them all feel accepted. We treat them with respect, with care. There is no difference for us,” Teresa said. “Our goal is to give good quality care and establish a trusting relationship with all of our patients, regardless of their race, religion or socioeconomic status.”