Rethinking resilience: an ethnographic exploration of what it means to be ‘well’ for Latinx LGBTQ+ immigrants seeking social services in the United States

Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Northern California, this article examines why many Latinx LGBTQ+ immigrants did not seek support from social service and nonprofit organizations, even as such institutions increasingly attempted to engage this population. Participant observation and interviews with both Latinx LGBTQ+ immigrants and local service providers revealed differing understandings of well-being and what constituted meaningful help. Social services often framed assistance through discourses of “resilience” rooted in mainstream Western ideals that emphasize educational achievement, career advancement, financial stability, and personal expression. These frameworks frequently failed to resonate with participants’ lived realities and also produced expectations about appropriate client behavior, leading to confusion or frustration when participants did not conform to institutional norms. Instead, many Latinx LGBTQ+ immigrants prioritized a form of well-being centered less on external achievement and more on preserving the ability to leave situations that no longer aligned with their needs or desires. Participants often avoided institutions when support appeared to require excessive conditions or obligations, even when doing so meant foregoing services or benefits otherwise available to them. Findings suggest that, as social service organizations expand outreach to new populations, they must also consider the assumptions embedded in their models of care and support.