Dear Neighbor,

Every day I work with Rhode Islanders who never imagined they would end up homeless. Many worked hard their entire lives, raised families, and did everything they were supposed to do before a medical crisis, a rent increase, or the loss of a job left them with nowhere to turn.

Too often, the people suffering through a crisis are treated like the problem instead of the victims of a system that has failed them. But their stories are not stories of personal failure — they are the predictable consequences of political choices that have left too many working people behind.

Because behind too many of these tragedies are health insurance companies denying care, corporate landlords driving rents higher and higher, and wealthy special interests profiting more and more while ordinary working Rhode Islanders struggle just to survive. It does not have to be this way. It should not be this way. And I know Rhode Islanders deserve so much better.

But for too long, too many politicians at the State House have refused to do anything about it. They have allowed housing costs to skyrocket while wages fail to keep up. They have treated healthcare like a business instead of a human right. And they have created an economy where people can work hard every day and still lose everything after just one crisis.

That’s why I am running for State Representative in District 7 — because I believe government should fight for working people, not wealthy special interests, and because I know firsthand how easily people can fall through the cracks when systems fail them.

I was adopted as a young child by a working-class family who taught me the values of hard work, humility, compassion, and service to others. When my parents tried to adopt me, people in their town told them families like ours did not get chosen. They were told adoption was only for wealthy people, not working-class families struggling to get by. But my parents refused to believe love, compassion, and opportunity should belong only to the wealthy.

My father worked three jobs, including as an on-call firefighter and donut maker, to provide opportunities for our family that he never had himself. My mother worked as an administrative assistant at the local junior high school. My parents did not have wealth, but they gave me something far more valuable: love, stability, and a deep sense of responsibility to help others whenever I could. Those values shaped the course of my life.

After college, I became a public school special education teacher because I wanted to help the most vulnerable children who needed someone in their corner. I loved my students, my work, and the life I was building. But years later, the same kind of life-altering crisis that has pushed so many Rhode Islanders to the brink hit my own life.

After the death of my father, I struggled with alcoholism and nearly lost everything that mattered most to me. I was fortunate. Through recovery, community, and the support of people who believed I was still worth fighting for, I rebuilt my life. Today, I have been sober for thirteen years, my family is whole again, and years later I was even able to adopt another child in need of a safe and loving home.

But experiencing how quickly grief and crisis could unravel my own life showed me how easily one difficult chapter can spiral into housing insecurity, addiction, and despair when people are left without support, affordable healthcare, or hope. And it inspired me to help others the same way others once helped me.

I went to work as a group therapist in the Massachusetts prison system. After learning how many incarcerated Rhode Islanders were being released without rehabilitative support, I moved to Providence in 2019 to continue that work. I believed then, as I believe now, that Rhode Island is small enough that with political courage, we can become a model for how government addresses the major issues facing working people — from housing insecurity and unaffordable healthcare to an economy that no longer seems to work for ordinary families.

Today, I work for a nonprofit organization helping unhoused and underhoused Rhode Islanders access shelter, housing, healthcare, and basic necessities. I also work a second job as a chef for a catering company because, like so many Rhode Islanders, I understand what it means to work hard and still struggle to make ends meet.

As your State Representative, I will fight to expand affordable housing, strengthen rent stabilization protections, increase healthcare access, and raise Medicaid reimbursement rates so Rhode Islanders can receive the quality care they deserve. I will fight for policies that help working families stay in their homes before they ever reach the point of crisis. And I will never stop standing up for the people too often ignored by those in power.

Over the coming months, I will be walking our neighborhoods and going door to door to introduce myself and hear directly from you about the challenges facing our community and the future you want for Rhode Island. I look forward to meeting many of you and I humbly hope to earn your vote in the Democratic Primary on Wednesday, September 9th. 

Together, I know that we can build a Rhode Island where working people can thrive — and no one is left to lose it all after one crisis, one illness, or one difficult chapter in their lives.

Sincerely,

Amy Joseph Santiago