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SARASOTA, November 2, 2018 – On August 13, 2008, Lucy Guzman arrived in the United States from her home country of Peru with her Green Card. Ten years later to the day, she achieved her dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. Now, she can start working towards a second dream of hers: to reunite her family. “When you decide to make big changes, you do it because you know you can give more to your kids, your grandkids,” Lucy said. “It’s hard being apart, but I want to be the great-great-grandmother who brought my family to America.” When she immigrated to the U.S., Lucy brought her youngest son with her, who was 14 at the time and plans to apply for his citizenship next year. However, Lucy’s eldest son was already 21 and therefore not able to immigrate with her on her Green Card. “My heart was broken,” Lucy said. “Half of me was here, but the other half was there.” Before she left Peru, she set her eldest son up in an apartment and covered his expenses for his first year on his own. He is now 32 years old with a wife and child, Lucy’s first grandchild, and owns his own gym where he works as a personal trainer. Now that Lucy is a citizen, she can apply for him and his family to move to the U.S. with her. It will still take some time, maybe eight years, but at least now she can start the process. Although she tries to visit Peru every two years, her becoming a U.S. citizen has given her family a way to realize their dream of reuniting for good. “Dreams are based on faith, but when you set goals, you work for them,” Lucy said, and that is exactly what she did. When she first arrived, she only knew basic English, so she enrolled in an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program. For seven months, she attended class in the mornings and worked in cleaning services in the afternoons. She then studied for and earned her CNA license, followed by a phlebotomy license and then a massage therapy license. “It was a challenge, but this country provides you with the aid you need to start your career,” Lucy said. In 2010, Lucy began working at Plymouth Harbor as a full-time CNA and a part-time massage therapist, sometimes working 12 hours a day. She is still an employee there today. In 2012, Lucy saw an ad for Habitat for Humanity and applied for a house. One year later, after 300 hours of volunteering with the program, she closed on her own home. “That’s when I thought to myself, ‘I think this country wants me to be here,’” Lucy said. Earning her citizenship and establishing her life here was a long process. Through that process, Lucy realized that if she worked hard, she would have the opportunity to set and reach her goal of not only improving her life, but improving the life of her family for generations to come. “Now I have rights, I have responsibilities, and I have privilege,” Lucy said. To learn more about Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, visit www.PlymouthHarbor.org # # # About Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay Plymouth Harbor on Sarasota Bay, founded in 1966, is a not-for-profit Life Plan Community centrally located between Bird Key and St. Armands Circle with vistas of the Gulf, Bay, and the City of Sarasota. Like its historic northern counterpart, Sarasota’s Plymouth Harbor is a lively waterfront community committed to an independent life in fellowship with one another. Serving over 330 residents, Plymouth Harbor offers customized independent living residences, home care, assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing and rehabilitation therapy services. Plymouth Harbor, Inc. operates as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) and is regulated under Chapter 651, Florida Statutes. For more information, please visit www.PlymouthHarbor.org.