When you’re a family person, the death of a family member is the most tragic event that may happen in your life. It’s even tougher when one of your parents passes away.Raul Acosta of Glendale, Arizona, experienced this.

His mother died unexpectedly when he was 18 years old. Then, at the age of 21, her mother’s partner, the father of his siblings, died. At the age of 21, he became the only  guardian and protector for his seven siblings.

All of his siblings were under the age of 18, the youngest being only 3.5 years old.

No one in their family offered to help all seven of them, so he was left to raise his younger siblings on his own.’I accepted responsibility.’ ‘I wasn’t willing to put them in foster care, divide them, and then have to reunite them later,’ Acosta said. ‘It could end up being tragic.’

He had a part-time job at a local Burger King, but it wasn’t going to be enough for him.
He was fortunate to find work as a tow truck driver, which enabled him to support his family as much as he could.

They also received pro bono legal assistance from Attorney Sandra Creta through Children’s Legal Services to keep them all together. She supported Raul in acquiring full custody of his siblings.

‘The fact that he had previously been making meals, tying hair, changing diapers, and repairing the house with money from his Burger King work for years,’ Atty. Creta said ‘He was already the father of the children.’

Unfortunately, when the virus hit, he began working fewer hours at his job and fell behind on his payments, especially his home.
They also had to pay additional costs once the bank discovered that the house’s owner, Raul’s mother, had died. In December 2021, they also lost state benefits like as food and cash assistance, as well as Medicaid.

They are now on the situation  of losing their family home unless they can come up with $13,728.40 by May 6, 2022.
Despite the fact that Raul had not requested her assistance, Atty. Creta felt obliged to aid the family. She contacted the Arizona Association of Sole Practitioners and Small Firms to help Raul get a credit.

That’s when Andrea Gutierrez and Danielle Graham stepped in to assist.
Andrea set up a GoFundMe page to raise the monies they needed.

‘Any money raised through the GoFundMe campaign will be utilized to pay the family’s bills, including food, lodging, power, gas, and clothing, as well as, if funds allow, to acquire a reliable vehicle that will allow Raul to find more stable work.’
‘Any money raised through the GoFundMe will be used to pay for a safe location for this family to reside if the family’s home is lost to foreclosure,’ Andrea wrote on the online fundraiser.

They hoped to raise $15,000 for the Acosta family at first.
However, once Raul was interviewed by multiple news outlets, they were able to raise the first  target in just three days.They increased it to $40,000 to assist with home repairs, food, clothing, and other necessities for the kids.

Do you have any idea what happened?
They raised about three times the second amount objective in just one day. They will not only be able to stay in their family house, but they will also be able to improve it!

Want to meet the Acosta family? Watch this video!