Youth Mental Health
Latine Adolescent and Young Adult Program (LAYA)
For many immigrant families, acculturative stress – the stress of adjusting to life in a new culture – can contribute to negative mental health outcomes. Our two-generation approach to care recognizes the acculturative stress that parents and children face in distinct ways as they constantly navigate between two worlds.
El Futuro’s Latine Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health Program (LAYA) is dedicated to improving mental health services and support for Latinx youth within the community. We aim to provide a platform for young voices to advocate for culturally sensitive and inclusive mental health care while fostering leadership and empowerment among Latinx adolescents and young adults.
Every year, El Futuro invites teenagers and young adults between 16 and 24 to join the LAYA Advisory Council to advocate for the needs and preferences of Latinx youth regarding mental health services, collaborating with El Futuro to develop and implement initiatives that address gaps in mental health support for adolescents and empower Latinx youth to become leaders and change-makers in mental health advocacy and education within their communities.
I’m particularly motivated by the passion and dedication of the youth on our advisory council, who are actively working to decrease mental health stigma in their communities. Their commitment to advocacy and their willingness to share their own stories create powerful ripples of change, inspiring others to speak up, seek help, and find hope for the future. Through collaboration, understanding, and compassion, the LAYA program strives to break down barriers and cultivate a future where every Latino youth feels valued, heard, and equipped to lead fulfilling lives.
Lazos Fuertes, Free Webinars for Adolescents and Their Parents
We offer monthly webinars for parents of teens and preteens. Topics include building connections, establishing routines, safe and healthy technology use, and supporting children with depression. These sessions are in Spanish through Zoom and Facebook Live on El Futuro’s fan page.
Thank you to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina for producing this video and promoting our work.
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