A program supporting foreign-born senior living workers in their efforts to obtain US citizenship has fulfilled the dreams of two employees who are excited to vote in their first presidential election.
The Goodwin Living Citizenship Program helps employees who are immigrants become US citizens by covering the $760 application fee, connecting them with resident tutors and walking them through the citizenship process.
The program, a joint effort between residents and the Goodwin Living Foundation, has paid the application fees for more than 200 employees and their family members, and more than 100 employees and family members have achieved US citizenship.
“At Goodwin Living, our mission to support, honor and uplift older adults and those who care for them applies regardless of national origin and citizenship status,” Goodwin Living President and CEO Rob Liebreich told McKnight’s Senior Living, adding that 40% of Goodwin Living’s employees come from the global workforce, and one in four are noncitizens.
“With citizenship application costs soaring and the healthcare workforce shrinking, our citizenship grant program is a solution that helps Goodwin Living recruit and retain hardworking talent and ensures that residents of our retirement communities and patients of our healthcare services enjoy quality, compassionate care throughout their aging journey,” he said.
Feeling valued
Ioana Munteanu, a sales coordinator at Goodwin Living, came to the United States from Romania 10 years ago and was intent on obtaining US citizenship the minute she received her green card.
Although she planned to continue her education and pursue a master’s degree in this country, things didn’t quite work out that way. Her first job was with a moving company that helped older adults move into senior living communities. Someone she worked with recommended her for a job as a moving coordinator with Goodwin Living. The rest, as they say, is history.
Munteanu said she learned about the citizenship program during the interview process with Goodwin Living. She said it was important to her to learn about the company’s values and the fact that it promotes diversity.
“Then I found out people from 65 countries work for Goodwin Living. For me, that was extremely important,” Muneanu said. “This is a company that will value me as an individual, as an immigrant.”
Being part of Goodwin Living’s citizenship celebration last month, she said, made her feel valued and appreciated. And she said she was overjoyed to earn her citizenship in time to vote in a presidential election. After moving from Romania, Munteanu would travel to the Romanian embassy to cast her vote in her native country’s elections.
“Now that I am an American citizen, I can vote for the country I live in,” Munteanu said. “My vote will actually impact my life in the country I’m living in right now.”
Goodwin Living hosted a ceremony across its three communities — The View Alexandria, Goodwin House Alexandria and Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads — in September to celebrate employees who recently had earned their citizenship.
Looking back at her journey to the United States, securing her green card and earning her citizenship, Munteanu called them important milestones. Although she doesn’t have family in this country, she said she feels supported by colleagues who have been part of her journey on a personal level.
“I feel like since I started working with Goodwin Living, the organization has been with me from the beginning,” she said. “They’ve supported me in my journey.”
Achieving dual dreams
Awetash Abdu, an environmental services team lead at Goodwin House Alexandria for 20 years, was born in Ethiopia and raised in Sudan. She moved to the United States in 1992, raising six children on her own after the death of her husband.
She said she found a job with Goodwin Living and stayed because of the support she received. The moment she received her certificate of citizenship in 2022, Abdu said, she couldn’t breathe, standing frozen in shock.
“When I came here, my dream was to educate my kids and become a citizen. Working here, I achieved both of my dreams,” Abdu said. “I’m very proud. I feel like I won something.”
Without the Goodwin Foundation’s help, Abdu said she could not have afforded the citizenship application. She said she didn’t tell her grown children that she was pursuing citizenship until she had the certificate in hand because she didn’t want them to worry about her.
And when she told her children she was a citizen, they didn’t believe her. So she had someone snap her picture with the certificate. When her children saw that picture, they “went crazy,” Abdu said. The next day, they came to visit her.
“It was a moment I’ll never forget until I die,” she said, shedding tears as she recounted those moments. “For me, it’s still emotional.”
Abdu said she’s excited to vote in her first election.
“I just want to go there and stand in line,” she said. “I don’t care how many hours it takes. I just want to be in line to be voting.”
The six-year Goodwin Living Citizenship Program recently expanded its offerings to include English language classes as well as help for workers with renewal fees for green cards and work permits.
