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Child And Family Policy

The Cortez Family

Latino families are prominently known for emphasizing togetherness and for encouraging the oldest child to take on parenting roles. Unfortunately, Latino’s born in this country have a strong attraction to gangs due to factors such as poverty and identity confusion. By joining gangs there is a solidarity among them that is difficult to achieve when not collectively together. As an example, the scenario of the Cortez family is a dysfunctional Latino family living in Rhode Island in present day. Mercedes is a single mother who has been a victim of domestic violence, as well as struggling with substance abuse for most of her life. She lives with her three daughters; Maria -21, Daniella-17, and Lola-15, in a small apartment. The following is a letter to Mercedes written by her youngest, Lola, to express the worries and unhappiness in her life caused by her living situation and overall experiences.

Dear Mom,
I am not sure I even know where to start. The past few months of my pregnancy have been so hard, and I wish you were around more to help me with it. I am only fifteen years old and sometimes I think you forget how young I am. You’re too busy with a different boyfriend every week to notice that I am in trouble and that I need help. I hate that we are on welfare, barely getting by. It makes me even more scared knowing that in five months I will not only have to worry about myself, but also support a baby. How will I raise a child in this small apartment, where the four of us is already a crowd? I blame you for us being the way we are. You’re supposed to be my mother, and bringing drugs into our home since I was a baby was a terrible example. I don’t think I will ever be able to get clean, and my baby will be born suffering from addiction. How is that fair? I wish that the news of my pregnancy would be enough for me to stop, but the high that I’ve seen you yearn for all my life, is now an addiction that I live with.
I can’t help but to...