This was not my plan for my 50s.

I thought I knew what my life would look like – raising my children, working hard, staying involved in my community, and doing my part quietly. But my life, more often than not, has been shaped by answering the call to help others when they need it most. That is what brings me to you now.

My name is Amy Santiago, and I am running for State Representative in District 7.

I wasn’t raised to chase titles or power. I was raised to show up for people. To listen. To do the work. And to leave things better than I found them.

I grew up lower middle class in a family that wasn’t supposed to happen. My parents were told they would never be able to adopt – that families like ours didn’t get chosen. But they chose me, and I chose them right back. My father worked whatever jobs he could find – firefighter, DPW worker, even making donuts overnight – and my mother kept our family together before eventually working in our local school.

We didn’t have much, but we had love, stability, and a deep belief that you take care of your neighbors.

That belief carried me through my life.

I became a teacher, working in Special Education classrooms with students facing emotional and behavioral challenges. I later went on to earn my master’s degree, thanks to a school district that believed enough in its teachers to invest in them. That’s something I’ve never forgotten – and something I believe Rhode Island must do better.

Before moving here, I worked as a group therapist in the Massachusetts State Prison system. That experience changed me. I saw firsthand what happens when systems fail people, especially when I learned that a Rhode Island resident I was working with would be released from prison with nowhere to go. No housing. No support. Just…the street.

I couldn’t let that go.

In 2019, I came to Providence determined to be part of the solution. I began working in social services, supporting people who are unhoused or on the brink of losing everything — helping them find shelter, stability, and dignity.

Today, I still do that work. I also work a second job as a chef. I am a single mom. Like many families in our district, I work hard to make ends meet. This is not theoretical for me — this is life.

And like many people, my life has not been without struggle.

There was a time when I lost my footing. After my father passed, I spiraled into alcoholism. I lost my stability, my health, and for a time, even my family. It is the hardest chapter of my life to talk about – but also one of the most important.

Because I fought my way back.

With the help of a recovery community that I am forever grateful for, I have now been sober for 13 years. I rebuilt my life. I reunited with my children. I opened my home to a young person who needed a family and adopted him. Today, I am also a proud grandmother.

That journey changed how I see everything.

It taught me humility – that none of us do this alone.
It taught me resilience – that people can come back stronger.
And it taught me purpose – that we are here to take care of each other.

That is why I am running.

I don’t believe a State Representative’s job is to tell people what’s best for them. I believe it is to listen – and to fight for what their community is asking for.

And what I hear, over and over, is this:

People are struggling to afford to live here.
People can’t access the healthcare they need.
And too many of our neighbors are being left without stable housing.

No Rhode Islander should be sleeping outside. I support expanding rent stabilization and taking stronger action to bring more housing online across our state.

We need to make sure healthcare is not a privilege, but something every family can count on – and that means supporting both patients and the providers who serve them.

And we must invest in our schools and our educators so that the next generation has more opportunities than the last.

I don’t have all the answers. But I will always ask the questions, and I will always listen.

What I can promise you is this: I will show up. I will work hard. And I will never forget who I am there to serve.

This campaign isn’t about me. It’s about all of us, and the kind of Rhode Island we believe is possible.

I would be honored to earn your support.