Greenwich high schooler founds resource for immigrant children

<p>A Greenwich teen has launched an online resource to help the children of immigrant families and offer guiding information about deportation.&nbsp;</p>

News 12 Staff

Jul 17, 2018, 7:35 PM

Updated 2,275 days ago

Share:

A Greenwich teen has launched an online resource to help the children of immigrant families and offer guiding information about deportation.
Jody Bell, 16, is an incoming senior at Greenwich High School. She says more than 4 million children are at risk of separation from their parents.
So she created In Case of Deportation, or ICOD, with help from Girls With Impact, an entrepreneurship program that helps teen girls turn ideas into businesses, nonprofits or other projects.
"They create a real business plan, and then we help them bring it to life," says Jennifer Openshaw, the CEO of Girls With Impact.
Bell's online program targets kids between 8 and 18 years old. It offers them emotional support, legal information and a child preparedness plan for immigrant families.
"A lot of my friends actually felt the effects of deportation, either directly or maybe extended family were potentially at risk," she says. "Given school policy and the fact it's a risky thing to talk to adults about, they felt like they didn't have a lot of emotional support."
Openshaw says Bell's program is being integrated into schools in Greenwich and in New Rochelle, New York.