Giving Tree: Michelle鈥檚 Story

Apr 23, 2021

In her journey on foot from Honduras to the United States, Michelle encounters family rejection, transphobia, and border patrol. In this video, created in a filmmaking workshop led by and , Michelle provides simple directions on how to listen, provide space and solidarity, and believe in yourself.

Michelle was part of a 鈥溾€� of migrants, including LGBTQ people, fleeing to the United States to escape transphobic and homophobic political violence and persecution in their home countries.

In any country, family rejection can lead youth to run away from home; in the U.S., recent estimates suggest that up to . can provide support (1-800-Runaway). 鈥�

This episode was produced with support from , the 鈥淓ngaging the Next Latinx Allies for Change and Equity鈥� program at . ENLACE builds solidarity and amplifies youth voices, connecting Latinx and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth in fighting the epidemic of social isolation affecting our queer youth today. Learn more about how these videos give youth the opportunity to transform their experiences with isolation into powerful tools that help others in ENLACE director Jonathan Garcia鈥檚 commentary.

Jonathan Garcia , Ph.D., is Assistant Professor and Program Director of . Born in Medellin, Colombia, his work strives to achieve health equity for Latinx queer immigrants like himself. As Program Director of the ENLACE Program, he amplifies the voices of queer youth to bridge solidarity for public health and social justice. Jonathan earned a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences from Columbia University. In 2021, he was awarded the ASPPH Early Career Teaching Excellence Award in recognition of his outstanding teaching and mentoring. He is a Public Voices Fellow with . Jonathan lives in Corvallis, Oregon, and speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese.