A young man who once fought to keep his seven siblings together once again finds himself fighting for his family. But this time thanks to the generosity of his community, he doesn’t have to worry anymore.
Raul Acosta was on the verge of losing his childhood home unless he could come up with nearly $14,000 by May 6. Less than a week after his story was shared, those who were willing to give donated more than $70,000.
“Raul is very grateful, and relieved!”
When Raul was 18 years old, his mother became ill and he was forced to take care of his seven younger siblings.
“My mom ended up passing away, and then I ended up being a dad to seven kids essentially,” he told 12News.
When he was 21, his mother’s boyfriend and siblings’ father died.
“I was hoping somebody in the family would take that over and handle the responsibilities. I had other plans myself, but you gotta do what you gotta do, and I took on the responsibility,” Acosta told CBS 5. “I wasn’t going to let them go into foster care, get separated. So I did what I needed to do to keep them together. They’re good kids.”
He met with Sandra Creta, who eventually helped him become the legal guardian and conservator of his siblings, ages three to 16.
She admits she was initially hesitant about granting guardianship to a 21-year-old, however when she learned all that he did for his brothers and sisters, she changed her mind.
“I was so impressed by his maturity,” she said. “The fact that he had already been packing lunches, braiding hair, changing diapers, using his money from his job at Burger King to fix up the house for years. He was already the dad to the little ones.”
Over the years Raul worked hard to keep his siblings safe, healthy, and under the same roof. But when the pandemic hit things became particularly tough, especially when his hours were reduced and he lost state benefits in December.
“It’s hard to keep up with everything. The fact that I have to buy the food, I have to pay the electric, I have to pay the water, I have to pay insurance on the cars and the house, it all adds up.”
He also hadn’t been able to receive assistance with the mortgage during the pandemic since the loan was in his mother’s name. A legal team is currently working to fix this issue.
When Creta heard Raul was behind on his payments and in jeopardy of losing his house she wanted to help.
“I reached out to the legal community and said I have this client who is one of the best people I know, and he needs help, and he needs help right away,” Creta said. “As grown-up and mature and responsible and amazing as you are, we can’t do things alone all the time. He did not ask for help, but there was no way I was letting this family lose their home.”
At the time of publication, more than $70,000 was raised, much more than the $13,728.40 Raul needed to save his family’s home.
The extra money will be used for repairs to the home as well as clothing, food, and other necessities for his siblings.
Raul, you are such an inspiration. You gave up your life plans to raise your brothers and sisters. That’s extremely admirable.
Please share this story.
