SAN ANTONIO – The number of unaccompanied children coming into the United States has only decreased by a small margin, according to Alpha Martinez Suarez, the volunteer coordinator for the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
According to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, as of January 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had about 4,096 unaccompanied migrants in its custody.
The Young Center has national offices coordinating volunteers to advocate for children’s rights. Martinez Suarez says that while the majority of the minors are from Spanish-speaking countries, volunteers who speak other languages are needed.
“We need bilingual people there to be able to communicate with them, either bilingual in English and Spanish. We are also in constant need of people that will speak Arabic, that will speak French, they will speak Punjabi, they will speak certain the Mayan language and some of the dialects,’ she explained.
The Young Center hosts two annual training sessions, one in the Spring and another in the Fall.
The next training session is in April, but a virtual information session will be held on March 6. Interested people must first complete a Volunteer Child Advocate Application.
They will undergo interviews and an FBI background check. For more information, contact volunteer@theyoungcenter.org.
