Help Leo from Habibi restaurant (Portland, OR)
This evening, Leo from Habibi was stabbed several times by a customer who refused to pay his tab. If you have been to Habibi, you will know that Leo (the owner) sees the world as his extended family. But, even before this incident, times have been hard. First there was covid, and loss of business. Then the looters vandalized his business - broke a window, stole alcohol and computers, etc., and now he gets stabbed. 2020 has been a harsh year for the people with boots at the ground level. Habibi offers some great middle eastern food, but the true jewel of the place is Leo himself. The purpose of this go fund me is to help Leo pay his medical bills and keep his restaurant open while he is in recovery. As of the most recent report, Leo is in surgery tonight with no update on his status.
Here is the link to the incident according to the PPB.
https://www.portlandoregon.gov/police/news/read.cfm?id=261237&ec=1&ch=twitter
10/1/2020 10:00pm
I just spoke with Leo. He was stabbed in the back and slashed on his arm. The police did catch the perpetrator with the help of the Habibi staff and the staff from Azteca. Luckily, the puncture missed his kidneys and did not cut any nerves near his spine. While he is able to walk around now, and is able to function, he is still having a lot of pain. He had to undergo a number of scans to make sure that nothing more than his flesh was hurt, and he went to the hospital in an ambulance, so the money being raised is definitely going to help him pay for these things. We are concerned that the hospital bills may be more than the $15,000 goal, so we are going to leave this up for the next week or two. What you all have done here, helping Leo, is an amazing act of kindness and generosity! This is the Portland I know and love, the Portland that can pull together to help our brothers and sisters when they are in need. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for helping Leo!
10/2/2020 9:30pm
I talked with Leo again tonight. He told me that his doctor told him that if the assailant had pushed just a little harder, that the knife in his back would have severed his spine. So, his wound is still very serious.
As we feared, Leo does not have insurance. He gave it up at the beginning of Covid when business dried up. The hospital called him today to get his billing information. He talked with a relative who is a doctor, and his relative told him that these things cost a minimum of $25,000. Leo is shaken by how much this may cost him. I told him, that we, Portland, and his friends all over the world have his back. Leo is emotionally moved by the support that is being shown here. If you know small business owners, you know that they are an independent lot. They want to do things themselves, and they want to succeed or fail by their own merit. However, Leo also knows that he can't do this alone. He needs our support, just as he has supported all of us with his kindness over the years. Here is the kind of guy Leo is: As we finished talking, Leo said: "You see that order there? A person ordered that with a food delivery service, but the driver never showed up to pick it up. So, I am going to take it to the person who ordered it. Because, she might be hungry and need the food." Who else cares so much about their customers, that they are going to drive a pick up order to a person's house, because they are concerned that they are hungry? And do so while still injured? This is just one of the reasons why we love Leo.
