Angela Maria Naso wrote this story while participating in the California Health Journalism Fellowship, a program of the Center for Health Journalism at USC’s Annenberg School of Journalism.

Luis Nolasco, 25, did not know what the psychological consequences would be when he came from Mexico with his family, illegally, at the age of nine. Then, in his late teens, he noticed he began to feel sad and pessimistic.

“Welcome to NAMI en español,” says Pedro Arciniega, in Spanish, before an audience of more than 35 participants who were crammed into a room to attend a month meeting to hear about one young man’s journey who struggles with a severe mental illness.