Splintered Family Left Young Immigrant Yearning for Tighter Bonds Miguel Hernandez Ford has seen the future. In it, he has something he has never known: a real family. Mr. Hernandez Ford's mother abandoned Honduras for the United States when he was young, leaving him and his younger brother in the care of his grandparents. By the time he was 7, Mr. Hernandez Ford had to work instead of attending school. While at first the work involved painting the simple wooden furniture that his grandfather built, by 12, Mr. Hernandez Ford was operating the equipment in the workshop, alongside him. He still bears the physical scars from those days. As he talks about them, he fingers a spot on his hand where an accident left a wound requiring 25 stitches. "Sometimes they would hit me," he said of his grandparents, attempting to shrug off the memories, "but kids want to do whatever they want, so they had to use the hard hand." Plagued by rampant crime and routine violence, the city in which Mr. Hernandez Ford grew up, San Pedro Sula, left its own marks. "Honduras is crazy; you see people killed," he said. But when you grow up over there, you're not scared of nothing. You just have to stay positive. When Mr. Hernandez Ford turned 15, his mother, whom he had not seen in nearly a decade, sent for him. After weeks of arduous travel, he arrived at the small apartment in the Bronx where his mother and her new husband lived with their four small children. Once again Mr. Hernandez Ford was forced to work, this time helping to support his mother and his half brothers and sisters. After six months, he asked to be allowed to attend school. His mother denied his request and kicked him out of the house, he said. Months later, at the invitation of a friend, he began playing soccer with South Bronx United, a nonprofit organization based in the Bronx that uses soccer as a means to engage with underprivileged youth, attempting to provide mentorship and academic support. In addition to introducing him to a community of stable adults and like-minded peers, South Bronx United helped Mr. Hernandez Ford get medical and legal support from the Medical-Legal Partnership Immigrant Youth Clinic. The clinic is supported by Montefiore Medical Center, Community Pediatrics Programs, the Children's Health Fund and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New York, one of the agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. By the fall of the following year, the staff at South Bronx United had succeeded in getting Mr. Hernandez Ford enrolled at John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx. Despite struggling with the English language, he completed the ninth and 10th grades. During this time, Mr. Hernandez Ford turned his thoughts toward becoming a citizen of the United States. George Nantwi, his coach and mentor at South Bronx United, had offered to become his legal guardian. But they were faced with a labyrinth of red tape, because he was an undocumented teenager without the support of a parent. Mr. Hernandez Ford continued to fight. For two years, he worked with the help of a lawyer to gain legal residential status, the first step toward becoming an American citizen. The process was frustrating and often led nowhere. "Sometimes we used to go to the court and we would be there for four or five hours, just waiting," Mr. Hernandez Ford recalled. "And they used to be like, "You have to come another day." " After several official letters sent to his mother went unanswered, and she failed to appear in court on the day of the final hearing, the New York County Family Court ruled that he had been "abused, neglected and abandoned" by his mother. On March 15, guardianship was granted to Mr. Nantwi, and Mr. Hernandez Ford was given special permanent resident status. But Mr. Hernandez Ford sees the court's decision as just part of a larger plan. First I want to get my G.E.D., then go to the Army. I know that if I go to the Army I will get my citizenship, so I can get my brother. Jordan, Mr. Hernandez Ford's 12-year-old brother, still lives with his grandparents in Honduras. For Mr. Hernandez Ford, now 20, the threat of deployment and the multiyear commitment is a small price to pay. Four years is four years. I know that is a lot of time and that there is a risk. But, all I think is that I have to fight for what I want. In addition to the desire to reconnect with his brother, Mr. Hernandez Ford hopes to have children of his own. I want my girlfriend to be with me my whole life, so I can have kids, and be with them for my whole life. In order to enlist, Mr. Hernandez Ford has to pass a high school equivalency exam, a process that has been made more difficult by his struggles with English. Without a mobile phone, he has had trouble coordinating meetings with his English tutors, finding employment and staying in touch with his brother and Mr. Nantwi. He often has to ask neighbors for the use of their phones or computers so he can send messages, but the unpredictability of access often results in missed connections or tardy responses. Earlier this month, Catholic Charities drew $439 from the Neediest Cases Fund to provide him with a Nexus phone and three months of wireless service. It is much more than a phone to Mr. Hernandez Ford; it is a key that unlocks the door to his future. My dream is to have a family, something I never had in my life. I never had a father with me; I never had a mother with me," he said. And that's why I do all that I do, every day, because I want my kids to be with me to the last day. He added, "That's why I'll fight. To have my own family and never separate.