Circles de Confianza: Promoting the Well-being of Latine Youth via Multinnodal Testinnonio

In the Spring of 2021, five Latine high school students gathered over Zoom to discuss experiences of confianza (trust) and desconfianza (distrust) with a team of researchers. Via multimodal testimonios, students built a community of confianza and convivencia (togetherness). Students identified this process as healing and offered suggestions on how to address desconfianza in school spaces and how to leverage confianza, creating a process by which to imagine schools de confianza. This research illustrates the potential of community building characterized by trust and belonging and oriented toward activism. This opportunity can support students to recontextualize their past experiences, feel validated in their experiences, and feel a sense of belonging.