With Girls United Achieving Professional Aspirations and Successes (GUAPAS), PHMC affiliate La Comunidad Hispana (LCH) reaches girls ages 14 to 18. They are the daughters of Latino laborers in Chester County’s Kennett Square, most of whom work on mushroom farms and have little formal education. They are teens who constantly find themselves navigating two cultures: Latino and American.

“GUAPAS provides a safe place for them to share their experiences. It’s a great opportunity for them to meet friends and it gives them hope and a sense of Mexico,” says Mirna Garcia, program coordinator of GUAPAS. “They still have the normal teenage issues, but the difference is they have to balance the language barrier and two different cultures.”

GUAPAS offers teens culturally competent guidance in goal-setting and planning for post-high school opportunities; self-esteem and self-image workshops; life skills training; health education and primary care; and service learning projects based on career interests and capabilities.

Through weekly meetings at LCH, GUAPAS participants can manage some of the unique stresses of growing up as first-generation American teenagers. At GUAPAS, they meet girls from similar backgrounds, learn about healthy lifestyles and discover academic and career options. “Programs like GUAPAS are important because they provide young Latina girls a forum to find their voice, build self-esteem and make connections with peers and others of the community,” says Margarita Mirkil, executive director of LCH.

A strong ethnic identity has proven to act as a buffer against environmental stressors, such as negative peer pressure, for young people of color."

When Krista M. Malott, Ph.D., assistant professor of education and human services at Villanova University, heard about the girls of GUAPAS, she knew they would be ideal to participate in her research entitled “Ethnic identity development in Mexican-origin adolescents.” The project calls for discussions with groups of Mexican-American teenagers about a variety of topics including racism, identity values and peer pressure—all aimed at increasing perceptions of identity and thereby lowering the risk of behaviors that threaten teenagers’ health.

“A strong ethnic identity has proven to act as a buffer against environmental stressors, such as negative peer pressure, for young people of color,” says Malott. She and her colleagues engaged GUAPAS girls in eight sessions, each with a distinct topic. “I know from research that when kids feel proud about their ethnic identify, they tend to do better in school,” says Malott.

Her team measured the girls’ perceptions of themselves and their cultures before and after the eight sessions. The results showed many participants had changed their minds about Latino culture and their place in it. After the sessions, one participant in the study reported that she “learned Latinos have worth and also can get ahead and succeed.” Malott hopes to turn her research into an academic paper and eventually create a program that can provide other teens with the benefits of sessions like those in GUAPAS.

Garcia says that many of the girls that come to GUAPAS have experienced difficulty navigating the culture clash that results from moving to America. “The majority of GUAPAS girls are first-generation immigrants,” she says. “It can be an awkward transition.” During her time as coordinator, she has seen many positive changes in the group. “I’ve had a couple of girls who are very shy and I can see them coming out of their shell—the program has helped them find friends.” More than 50 girls have participated and benefited from the program since its inception in July 2006.

For more information about GUAPAS, visit lacomunidadhispana.org.