Adolescent Cape Verdean girls’ experiences of violence, incarceration, and deportation: Developing resources through participatory community-based groups

Adolescents from immigrant families who live in low-income urban neighborhoods are confronted with a variety of challenges. Loss is one of these challenges, one that little is known about, especially the complex intersection of loss due to violence, incarceration, and deportation. This study used participatory and action research strategies to explore Cape Verdean adolescents’ experiences in VALOR (Values Affecting Learning Our Roots), a program for Cape Verdean girls who had lost someone to violence, incarceration, and/or deportation. The girls’ stories were documented through extensive field notes and the transcripts from five focus groups. An inductive thematic analysis of the data revealed the core process that occurred during VALOR: learning to communicate their experiences of loss and building trusting relationships through VALOR. This study demonstrates the importance of developing participatory community-based interventions for adolescents facing these challenges.