By Vanessa Garcia
I wish I could sit here and tell you how it all began but, honestly, I feel like it’s a trait that us Garcias are born with. We have always been a family of service, whether it be serving in the military like my father and brothers did or going out into the community to find those in need like my mother has done and has continued to do since before I was born.
I remember as a little girl making sandwiches and soup and getting blankets and warm things to take out to the homeless people in the area, or boiling hot water for Annie who was an elderly woman in a wheelchair that had no heat in her home. So I guess when this situation came about we simply jumped into action and did what we do best: serve.
The migrant/refugee situation started here at the Parish of St. Michael – St. Malachy at the end of August. Our family was here on a Saturday afternoon attending Brother Francisco’s Solemn Vows, and a lady came and approached my mother saying in Spanish: “Hi, I am looking for Barbara Garcia, I was told she could help me?”
My mother asked her how she could help her and she explained that she had just been bused in from Texas with her three children and husband. They were starving and had nothing but the clothes on their backs.
My mother quickly took them over to the office, grabbed some food from the event and started looking through bins of clothes that people have donated for flea markets to see what could work for them. Word got out, and the next thing you know we were getting 40-50 people a day asking for help.
Not only did they need clothes and shoes, but they were hungry. Many of them hadn’t eaten a real meal since they left their country. It was truly heartbreaking.
We knew what we wanted to do. Now the question was, “How?” We all jumped into action. Father Brendan reached out to his family, friends, and parishes he used to serve and was able to get us clothing and monetary donations so that we could go out and buy the necessities like underwear, socks, and shoes, because most of them had nothing but cheap flip-flops that they got from Immigration.
With the collaboration of our families, friends, parishioners and other parishes we have been able to come up with enough donations to continue to serve all who come to our parish. Brother Francisco and volunteers help with getting food, or cooking when they come, so they get a home-cooked meal.
Our family ensures they get clothing and any additional services we can offer. It truly has been a blessing being able to serve the community and an even bigger blessing to do it as a family.
Vanessa Garcia is a parishioner of St. Michael-St. Malachy Parish in Cypress Hills.