Fundraiser to Lay Tío Harry to Rest

Hi, I am Gisselle Yepes and I am fundraising for the funeral and burial costs de mi tío Harry, who died unexpectedly on December 26th, 2023. This is the third death in the Baez family, a matriarchal Puerto Rican family of ten, in two years and the fourth death in four; Steven, my cousin, died in April 2019, Wela died April 2021, and Tío Freddy died November 2021, and we need support now (actually, again, as we needed support that November with Tío Freddy) to put my uncle, his older brother to rest, which is an expensive thing to do in New York, to die.

We learned Tío Harry died, on concrete, in the Bronx, unnamed, without family near...three days after he was taken to St Barnabas Hospital. And his friend who called for help then recorded him being helped incorrectly as the cops pumped his chest without ever giving him mouth-to-mouth. My heart breaks writing this, thinking of all the ways he could have been saved. How when she called us, to tell us what she saw, she mentioned the people who kept walking by him, her friend, her buddy, and all of them were capable of helping him, but they walked by. How often we do this in New York, walk by people who need our help. Tío Harry lived the kind of life you'd walk by and, with my breaking heart, he lived that kind of death too.

And still, Harry Baez was an incredible boxer and artist; he was the only person who called me G-money and reminded his nieces and sisters everyday that we are beautiful; he was Wela's biggest headache and still, they could not live without each other, and he loved to listen to music. There is a video of him dancing with his little sister next to his brother's casket at the Ortiz Funeral Home on the Concourse. And not even three years later, he may be in a casket there too. Yes, my heart is breaking too.

Tío Harry died at 58 years old. I am fundraising in hopes, my god, I hope, that this lets us stop and help him be put to rest, without dismissing his life. I hope we do not continue to walk by.