At just 12 years of age, Jose Ventura embarked on a painful and arduous journey from El Salvador to the United States. As an “unaccompanied minor,” he went from Mexico to Texas and finally to the Selma R. Carson Home.
The home, located in Fife just north of Tacoma, is a detention center for undocumented youth. Ventura spent the last years of his childhood there. When he turned 18, with no family to take him in, he was ordered to report to an adult detention facility.
Ventura went his own way. He met and befriended other undocumented youth who also lacked stable housing or steady income. In 2020, he met Rosario Lopez, an organizer and community navigator, through a mutual aid group formed during the pandemic.
“We gave him some money for food, but he came back for more right away,” said Lopez. She realized he was buying food for other kids, too.
They became fast friends. Lopez described Ventura as a born leader, charismatic, kind, and with a love for life that transcended his difficult circumstances.
Ventura started a group called Super Familias (“Super Families”) to help undocumented youth find friendship, security — even joy. At first, members organized protests against the Selma R. Carson Home, citing what they called poor conditions at the facility, but Ventura’s heart wasn’t in it.
What he did love, however, was raising money for the quinceañera of a fellow Super Familia youth, a teen named Suamy. “He respected the desire for protest,” said Lopez, “but Jose wanted to heal.”
“He told me if we can’t heal from the things that happened to us, we’ll just end up in prison or the hospital system,” Lopez said.
And then, just a year after they met, 19-year-old Jose Ventura died tragically. Lopez plans to ensure healing others remains Ventura’s legacy.
Today, Super Familias hosts cumbia dance classes, maintains a community pantry, and collects items like winter coats, shoes, tablets, computers, and phones.
“We shifted focus to the healing arts like art and dance,” said Lopez. Many undocumented youth are seeking help, she continued. Super Familias is “looking for ways to help kids heal by connecting them with their roots and culture.”
ICE raids have forced Super Familias to be cautious of sharing any location information, so they mainly communicate through Signal and word of mouth.
Learn more at Instagram @superfamilia_kc.
