José arrived in the US from El Salvador in early 2023, shortly after his partner Yeni and their 5-year-old niece Maria José arrived. José and Yeni had raised María José when María José’s mother Juli had to leave to bring Maria José's twin sister here as an infant for life-saving emergency medical care.

José came to the US to support Yeni, Maria José, and now his and Yeni's new baby Janna, born here on March 11, 2023. He has been working hard at a hotel, as well as doing everything he can to support his newly-arrived family. José's presence means a tremendous amount of stability and support for his extended family here in the US. He is contributing so much to our community as well.

When José was 16 years old and living through the civil war in El Salvador, he was taken from his family and forced to fight as a child soldier. He took (US-backed) bullets in his leg and backside, as well as a bullet that went sideways through his mouth, taking teeth out on one side as well as some of his jaw bone on the other side. Now José has a terrible infection in his teeth and jaw, and urgently needs all his teeth extracted and replaced with dentures.

A generous dentist has offered to work with José to make the procedure as affordable as possible. However, extractions and dentures remain expensive. How incredible it would be if our community could pull together and make it possible for this important father and uncle to get the dental work he needs to support his own health while he supports others.

(If you decide to give, please slide the tip amount to zero, so all the funds can go to José. Thank you!)