Local doctor’s own immigration story inspires her to help immigrant students [Video]

(WXYZ) — Hispanic Heritage Month continues through the middle of October, and we want to highlight one program helping students at Ypsilanti Community High School.

It’s called the Latinx Youth Empowerment Series, also known as “YES.” The group connects and provides mental health services to immigrant students. Those students, many of the program’s designers say, may not have had access to those services otherwise.

Dr. Fernanda Cross is one of the people who work with the group. Now an assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work, Cross is an immigrant herself who came to the U.S. from Brazil over two decades ago.

Cross’ first language is Portuguese, and she knew just a handful of English words before leaving home.

“I just felt so powerless. No matter how much I wanted I couldn’t communicate,” she said. “You notice that others don’t really take you seriously because they …