El Librito is our new tool to tell you the mural story called ‘Libertad’ and how it came about. You will find a lot of symbols that represent us along with what El Futuro does to help the community.
To tell this story we want to introduce you Michael. He is an 8-year-old friend of El Futuro, whose story has become an inspiration to us.
We met Michael and his family when we knocked on their door with an invitation to help us paint the community mural at our clinic in Durham, which they accepted. When we walked together along the outdoor mural that day, Michael delighted in showing us where he painted the kids’ silhouettes, pointing out which one is him, which is his friend, and his brother. He was excited to be part of our mural.
Michael walked here from El Salvador. Walked!! Maybe not surprisingly his favorite part of the mural is the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of hope for many sojourners to our country. He’s never seen it in person, but this is what he said:
“When I see it I feel happy. I feel good, and I like it.”
Michael and his family are not patients at El Futuro, but they are part of our community and they are grateful to be a part of the mural process. It was a gift to them. This is the way they support our work so that other families can feel welcome and like they belong as well. Michael came a long way to feel at home, which is why he’s drawn to the huge “Bienvenidos a Casa” – Welcome Home message on our mural. We hope our community feels that sense of home too.
Inside the book they’ll find the story and meanings of the symbols as well as activities. Download your Librito by clicking here. It’s FREE!
if you want to help more people get access to El Librito, you can make your contribution by clicking HERE. With a donation of $100 you can provide 20 copies of the Librito, sticker sheet, and a small box of crayons to children and families!
Alvely Alcántara, LCSW
Rossy C. Garcia, MEd 
Katy Sims, MD 
Everardo Aviles, LCSW, LCAS (Eve)
As a medical anthropologist and social work researcher, Dr. Gulbas’ research embodies interdisciplinarity through the integration of applied theories of health and human development with qualitative and ethnographic methodologies. Her work seeks to understand how people—children, families, and providers—navigate complex sociocultural landscapes in the pursuit of mental health. Most of her work, to date, focuses attention on developing more robust interpretations of suicide risk. With funding from the National Institutes of Mental Health, this body of research has contributed to advancements in theoretical and empirical knowledge of the broader contexts within which youth suicide risk is situated. 
R. Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez is a developmental psychologist and an assistant professor of Population Health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the principal investigator of a study that examines the impact of immigration-related threat and stress on school communities. She earned a PhD in developmental psychology from Columbia University and hold a BA in human biology from Stanford University. Dr. Barajas-Gonzalez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first gen college student.
Dr. Parra-Cardona is an Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work (SHSSW) at the University of Texas at Austin. At the SHSSW, he serves as Coordinator for Mexico and Latin American initiatives. He also serves as Area Director for Research at the UT Austin Latino Research Institute. Dr. Parra-Cardona’s program of research is focused on the cultural adaptation of evidence-based parenting interventions for low-income Latinx populations in the US and Latin America.
Bianka Reese, PhD, MSPH is a research scientist and program evaluator specializing in adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her previous research in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her work as the Research and Evaluation Manager at SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led largescale evaluations of multilevel, community-based sexual health promotion initiatives and research projects aimed at elevating the voices of diverse youth in North Carolina. Dr. Reese is currently the Senior Research Strategist at Creative Research Solutions, LLC, an award-winning national evaluation, research, and assessment firm.
Tania Connaughton-Espino, MPH is an independent researcher focused on adolescent and young adult sexual and reproductive health. Her interest in the experiences of Latinx LGBTQ+ youth stems from her previous work with SHIFT NC (Sexual Initiatives For Teens), where she led the training and evaluation department, conducted capacity-building workshops for youth serving professionals including on the topic of how to be more affirming of LGBTQ youth, and from her extensive experience working with the Latinx population in NC.
Maru Gonzalez, EdD is an Assistant Professor and Youth Development Specialist in the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University. Her areas of inquiry include youth development with a focus on activism, social justice, and the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people across familial, school, and community contexts. 
Nayeli Y. Chavez-Dueñas, PhD
Hector Y. Adames, PsyD