Mother of 2 graduates college after experiencing years of homelessness
Sitting among the more than 1,300 Rhode Island College graduates in the class of 2023 was Francisca Garcia.
"I cannot believe that I made it,” Garcia said.
Before earning her degree, the 48-year-old mother of two experienced years of homelessness in New York and Rhode Island after moving to the U.S. from Ecuador in 1999.
"Sometimes we didn't have no food to eat. We had to wait for you know, donations so we can eat,” Garcia said.
She said that experience inspired her to pursue a degree in social work.
"It's going to help me to advocate for people who are oppressed by this society, for people who don't know there are a lot of resources out there that they can get and to just motivate them that if I did, I know they can do it too," Garcia added.
Now she’ll work on earning a master's degree with the hopes of working to address Rhode Island’s growing homelessness crisis.
"The homeless situation is — oh my God that's so sad, it's something that really needs to be addressed," Garcia said. “I want to make a difference. I want to be able to provide them with the things they need.”
Watch the video above for more on Francisca’s inspirational story.