Supporting Yecson and his family

Hi everyone, this is my friend Yecson.

About a month ago, I was driving to the gym when I saw Yecson and his family on the street. He was holding a sign that said he needed a job/food, with his phone number. I quickly took down his number and was able to get him a job working as a dishwasher at the same coffee shop I work at.

Since meeting Yecson, I learned that he and his family came to Chicago from Venezuela. He was able to come prepared with his permits to work, so he was working construction in the city during the summer. However, because of the weather, construction stops in the winter, and Yecson was unaware of this. And so, he and his family having been living in and out of a motel in the city, costing them $500 a week. They do not speak English, and so navigating around for help has been a challenge.

A few weeks ago, my close friends and family were able to raise $1,340 for him, which kept them in the motel for two weeks and the rest we used to buy them groceries, a small rice cooker, a little grill top to make eggs, and some other basic necessities.

He gets paid weekly as a dishwasher, but they cannot fully accommodate full time work for him, so pay is minimal. Ideally, I'd like to raise money to help him and his family get into a rental property of their own so his kids can go to school so his wife does not have to watch them, and then he can work full time. There are a lot of affordable housing options in the city, so I would like to help them through the process of being somewhere more permanent.

Please help them with your support and guidance so they can succeed. If you have connections to full time work, speak Spanish, or can donate food, clothing, or money- anything can help!

He is not aware that I am doing this, so I would like to surprise him and let him know that there is a community of people behind him and his family rooting for their success. He has been nothing but gracious and appreciative the whole time I have known him. He is a dear friend now just after a few weeks, and I thank God every day that I met him and his family.

Let's help.