Nirma Hasty

CHICAGO — On the week of her due date, Elibexis Alvarez, a Venezuelan migrant, was preparing to give birth to her first child far away from her parents and the home country she never thought she’d leave.

NBC News has reconstructed a timeline of events in Hawaii, where windswept wildfires devastated communities and killed scores of people.

If you’ve faced having your parental rights terminated in the past decade, ProPublica and NBC News would like to connect with you to understand how your case was handled.

"Everyone that works here works to survive," says a farm laborer in California. "All I ask is for a little help to feel safe."

“I feel so frustrated cause I can’t get anyone to come forward and give me any information to figure out what exactly transpired. I guess I’m just looking for some closure.”

“Young people aren't able to be young people. They're being forced to be adults starting at a young age,” said the founder of an anti-violence group.

“Being an island off an island makes things extremely difficult," said Hope Builders' Vicki Michaud. "There's so many people in dire need of a home."

"I remember my older sister Anita with her black hair, but I saw her now with her with her gray hair and all these other details," says one relative.

Helping a farmer "feels better than getting an A+," said José Nolla Marrero, 17, founder of the Puerto Rican web venture E-Farm.

For many, the recovery after the deadly, devastating storm has been agonizingly slow. Yet residents are still looking for a way forward.

For many young Hispanics, navigating their parents' culture in the U.S. has shaped their views on what it means to be American.