ProJo: Crossroads RI helps mother and son find a home they can call their own

“I was looking for a better way of life and a better education for my son,” Lisbeth Matos Cruz said, when she left Puerto Rico. They lived with a relative in Rhode Island initially, but then circumstances grew intolerable.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A home for the holidays.

Homeless no more.

That is the story Lisbeth Matos Cruz brings us this Christmas, courtesy of Crossroads Rhode Island, which assisted Cruz and her son Jamuel, 15, in finding an apartment after they were forced to leave the discomfort of the place where they had been living.

Not now. Their new apartment on this recent wintry afternoon was warm and warmly decorated.

“I am thankful for mama,” read one line on a Thanksgiving card Jamuel had created.

“I am thankful for family,” read another.

The card topped the Christmas tree that the son and mother had placed in the kitchen, where a poinsettia graced the table. A Christmas tree, on their first Christmas they would not celebrate in their native Puerto Rico.

Through translator Cynthia Dukes, her case manager at Crossroads, Lisbeth recounted the circumstances that brought her to the mainland, and then — almost — to the city streets.

To view the complete article, visit Providence Journal