Families send message of love with ‘Care-A-Van’ to Las Cruces seniors
Correction: U.S. Rep. Xochitl Torres Small was not one of the organizers of this event as originally reported.
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico-- The most vulnerable population to the coronavirus are the ones who need the most care.
Seniors across the country have been cut off from the love and affection their families have wanted to bestow upon them for the duration of the pandemic.
A group organized by friends and family members of seniors in Las Cruces wanted to remind them they are never forgotten and are awaiting the day to hold them once more.
Xochitl Hernandez, with Haciendas at Grace Village, and Heidi Moccia, wife of NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia, came up with the Care-A-Van idea.
The group met up with family and friends of the seniors in facilities around Las Cruces and paraded in vehicles in front of the assisted living homes.
Grandmothers and frandfathers waved at their family members who honked horns and yelled heartfelt messages to each other from a safe social distance.
One granddaughter exclaimed to her grandmother, "I love you Grandma!" to which an attendant to her grandmother said, "She said, 'She loves you too!'"
The elated granddaughter replied, "'Grandma, I love you more than anything in the world!'"
Tears flowed as the Care-a-Van passed their most precious family members.
Tiffany Bristol, the operations manager at the Hacienda Garden Valley, said, "Human touch is vital to a person's psyche and well-being and emotional state. Not having as much does affect somebody. We do show love to our residents in many different ways but even we cannot hug on them."
