Dear friends,

Thanksgiving reminds us of the extraordinary resilience it takes to survive and thrive—and of the community support that makes it possible. Today, many Identity youth and families are facing traumatic changes and cruel choices. They are worried about sending their kids to school, feeding their families, earning enough to live and staying together. And we are walking this path with them.

Meanwhile, community needs keep growing. Our emotional support programs, GED classes, jobs programs and requests for assistance to meet basic needs are stretched because they are lifelines. Make no mistake: this is not normal.

We are deeply grateful that, with your support, we will continue to teach skills for the future—social-emotional, workforce and academic. And we will continue to offer programs that let kids be kids, giving them respite from the stress their families are experiencing, and more families in crisis will have some breathing room to make some of the hardest decisions of their lives.

For nearly 30 years, friends of Identity have stepped up for neighbors at their most vulnerable moments. 

Santiago, the sole breadwinner, was detained because he missed an ICE check-in out of fear and was rapidly deported to a country he has never been to, leaving his family with no income. His wife, Monica, was scrambling to figure out how to feed four children, where to live and whether to separate the family. That’s when she reached out to Identity. We quickly marshalled resources to meet their basic needs so she could make those decisions. The road ahead is still scary, but Monica now has a job, rooms in a shared house, an Emergency Safety Plan and a Case Manager who has her back.  

With your support this holiday season, families like Monica's won't fall through the cracks. Instead, we can walk beside them through the hardest moments and give them the breathing room needed to find their way forward.

Much gratitude and abundant wishes for a happy and hopeful Thanksgiving,