New Girl Scout troop for migrants in NYC shelter aims to empower youths as they navigate challenges

NEW YORK -- Earlier this year, about 100 new Girl Scouts took their first trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, touring the sights, learning their history and hearing how New York City has long been a beacon to migrants from across the globe.

The spring visit had special resonance for the youths, all of whom are migrant children staying at a city-run shelter. They’re part of a new Girl Scout troop consisting entirely of young asylum seekers.

“I felt very emotional because it was my first time,” Laura, 12 said in Spanish of the trip.

“I’m learning about what I can do as a Girl Scout and I’ve learned more values,” she added.

Girl Scouts of Greater New York created the new troop in January as the city struggled to handle an ongoing increase in migrant arrivals. Amid mixed messages of support and criticism about the new population, Girl Scout leaders wanted to bring young asylum seekers into their fold.

“They can sense that not everyone welcomes them,” said Jimmy Van Bramer, Girl Scouts of Greater New York’s chief growth officer. “We are saying that you’re not just here. You’re not just being tolerated — you belong.”

The Girl Scouts had to retool their traditional program for the new troop, which now numbers 180 girls from ages 5 to 17. Leaders did outreach to kids and parents living in one of the emergency shelters the city set up for migrants, translated materials into Spanish and created a curriculum to teach recruits about navigating the intimidating city. There are lessons on U.S. civics, too.

With Spanish-language meetings on weeknights and trips to local monuments and museums on the weekends, the girls are starting to feel empowered, said Giselle Burgess, director of Girl Scout Troop 6000.

“All these girls that come in completely change, build community and are different girls from when they first come in,” she said.

The new group for migrants is part of Troop 6000, the Scouts’ well-known branch just for homeless girls.

Those in the asylum-seeker unit come from all over Latin America, including Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Peru, according to Burgess.

Laura migrated from Bogotá, Colombia, with her parents, little brother, uncle and aunt. She was reluctant to leave behind friends and family but had no choice when her parents abruptly decided to escape their home country amid deteriorating conditions there, according to her mother.

The Scouts offered Laura a new community as she adjusted to New York City following a strenuous eight-day journey that took the family through Mexico and Texas.

“At the beginning, it was uncomfortable because I didn’t know anybody but after time passed, the girls started to confide in me and we [formed] friendships I’ve never had before,” said Laura, who’s in the seventh grade.

“They taught me what it means to be a true friend.”

Parent volunteer Karol, a migrant herself, noted some of the scouts endured long periods of separation from family members. All of the girls are grappling with a new language, new schools and uncertainty about their futures, she noted.

“A lot of things have been taken from them,” Karol, 27, said in Spanish. “I want to impart on these girls hope that they can overcome it together.

“There’s also some girls who don’t feel that” they can overcome their challenges, she added. “I am attempting to refill those vessels of hope again.”

The new troop comes as the Girl Scouts of Greater New York have seen membership numbers spike. There were 20,415 scouts as of last month, more than double the number in January 2022. Troop 6000 accounts for about 1,000 scouts total.

The creation of the migrant troop continues a long Girl Scout legacy of outreach to underserved groups.

Nonprofits including Trinity Church Wall Street and the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation donated about $400,000 total to help create the new group.

“For as long as they are here, we will make sure they have as warm a welcome and as genuine a Girl Scout experience as we can possibly give them,” said Girl Scouts of Greater New York CEO Meridith Maskara.

Laura described activities like a recent visit from Camille Joseph Varlack, chief of staff for Mayor Adams, as inspiring.

“Women should be more visible in their communities,” she said. “To see that there are women that have the same power [as men], you feel proud to be a woman.”

The latest challenge facing her and Karol’s families are notices from the city that they have to leave their current home soon. Under a recent policy change from Adams, migrant families have been receiving 60-day notices to exit city-run shelters.

Members of the new troop have all been living at the same site, where they hold their meetings. As the scouts begin to disperse throughout the city, troop leaders are planning to keep the group together through Zoom sessions, though they realize it won’t be easy.

Karol, who came to New York City with her husband, their infant child and her younger siblings, plans one day to return to their native country. The couple are political activists who felt compelled to leave after Colombia’s latest presidential election, she said.

Laura’s mother, who also volunteers for the troop, said she hopes to make a new life for her family in the States.

She gave the scouts a spontaneous, emotional speech during their April 2 trip to Ellis Island.

“I explained to them, ‘I want you to understand something. You are no different than anyone that’s walked through those doors,’” said the 32-year-old mom. “From the youngest to the oldest, whatever dreams you want to do, feel empowered. Know that you have many women and people behind you who are going to back you up and that we want the best for you.”

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-- With Anna Gratzer