Raising Hope: Helena rallies around the Garcia family

Oliver Garcia with his family in a portrait taken outdoors with fall trees visible in the background. Oliver is a boy with light brown skin, glasses, and short dark hair seated in his wheelchair. His brother beside him also has short dark hair and light brown skin and is standing. Oliver's mother is holding a baby and has light skin, shoulder-length blonde hair, and a blue velvet dress. His dad has light brown skin, glasses, and short dark hair and wears a turtleneck and blue velvet jacket.

“In the vast majority of cases, medical insurance will not cover home conversions or medically accessible vehicles. In current systems, such things are shockingly not considered medical necessities.”

The family of Oliver Garcia is fundraising with Help Hope Live for an accessible van – a critical need to keep Oliver safe and mobile as he lives with quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

As Oliver grows and thrives, his family faces significant hurdles to manually transfer him in and out of a non-accessible vehicle. Even with great credit, monthly payments towards a van will exceed their mortgage payments.

While the article on January 10 reported the community had raised over $3,500 in Oliver’s honor, by January 16, they have raised over $5,400.

Written by Emily Progin