Women refugees gather to socialize and practice English during a weekly group class at the Refugee Dream Center in Providence. Many rely on federal food assistance and government health insurance, but will lose access under federal budget cuts in 2026. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
Beheshte Hemid, 25, smiles while singing the ABCs with fellow women refugees at a weekly class inside Calvary Baptist Church on Broad Street in Providence.
She smiles stumbling her way through an explanation in English about the life that her family of three has set up since moving to Rhode Island from Afghanistan 11 months ago…