Caridad G. Asensio (1931– October 31, 2011) was a Cuban-American migrant worker advocate.
Early life
Asensio was born in Cuba alongside two sisters.[1] She was raised and married in Cuba until Fidel Castro took power, which is when she emigrated to New York and then Boca Raton, Florida with her family.[2]
Career
After Asensio and her family moved to Florida in 1960, she worked at Hagen Road Elementary School as a social worker and health educator. While there, she met her future co-founder Connie Berry who was a teacher at the school.[3] Asensio soon began volunteering at Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Mission in Delray Beach[4] and eventually founded the Migrant Association in a trailer to provide low-cost housing to migrant workers.[2] Two years later, Asensio and Berry co-founded the Caridad Health Clinic which operated with the assistance of volunteer doctors and dentists.[3] The Clinic was the first in South Florida to provide free health care to farm workers and their families.[5] By 1992, the Migrant Association moved 79 families into stable livable trailers.[6]
As a result of its early success, the association moved to a $2.5 million clinic dubbed the Caridad Center within its first five years of operation.[7] In 1995, Asensio was awarded the JCPenney Golden Rule Award for her migrant worker advocacy[8] and the Palm Beach County Literacy Coalition President's Award.[9] On December 3, 2001, Asensio was hit by a car while crossing the street and went into a coma.[10] Although she regained her ability to speak, she had difficulty walking.[11] In 2005, Asensio was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.[12] Caridad died on October 31, 2011, after experiencing a seizure.[7]
Personal life
Asensio and her husband have two children together. Her son Manuel P. Asensio was the proprietor of a small brokerage firm.[13]
