Hello, My name is Mary Vanco. My husband Joseph and I are raising funds for Steven Gonzalez to help him to rebuild his life at a critical moment as he has the chance to leave homelessness behind.

I met Steven in September as I was driving around West Chicago looking for ICE presence. I had learned about Steven from reading his daily community safety updates and morale boosters on Facebook. He had become a sort of hero to me…Steven seemed to be everywhere in WC at all times of day or night, not only patrolling for ICE but bringing groceries to families too afraid to leave their homes for fear of being kidnapped, giving rides to people who needed them, and posting reassuring messages to a frightened community. At Halloween he organized trunk-or-treats at WC apartment complexes so families could enjoy being out and about with little fear of ICE. He has organized food and clothing drives for families in the WC area, and most recently a toy drive for the children whose families lost their homes in the apartment complex fire in Carpentersville. This month, there have been many sightings of Santa around West Chicago, but you won’t ever see Santa and Steven in the same room at the same time! He does all of this out of the kindness of his very generous heart.

But it is Steven’s heart that has caused him to be on the verge of homelessness. Steven owned and operated his own landscaping business for several years until Covid caused health issues that prevented him from working for a few years. In 2023, he was hospitalized with pneumonia and RSV and is now on oxygen. He has also survived heart failure and major heart surgery.

“Steven's current situation is not due to lack of effort on his part. He has applied for numerous positions and is also applying for disability services,” says his friend Robert Bober who started another GoFundMe for Steven earlier this year. “With Steven's health conditions, his job opportunities are very limited and (if approved) disability services are not realistic for many months. The fact that he is homeless impacts his opportunities/funding. In fact, he recently lost some valuable funding due to no longer having a fixed physical address.”

But there is hope for Steven! He has an opportunity for a fresh start with a rent-free apartment and a fixed physical address. While that lifts the burden of the daily motel rent and allows him to get his possessions out of storage and stop paying storage fees, he still has many other financial needs. And that is why I am asking you to donate to this GoFundMe today. Your donation will go toward his following needs:

· Car payments to prevent repossession of his sole means of transportation to get to doctor appointments and to continue his acts of service within the community

· Car insurance

· Mobile phone payments for communication with his family/community, internet access for his government benefits, and heart defibrillator data transmission to his cardiologist

· Medical expenses

· Living expenses as he cares for himself and his 16-yr-old son, who is active in extracurriculars

The last few months have demonstrated how strong the Chicago communities are: we look out for each other. We have shown the rest of the country – and the world – that it is all of us working together that makes us great. Let’s help Steven get back on his feet so that he can continue to bring his positive attitude to our neighborhoods.

You can send directly to Steven at his Venmo: SpeedyGonzalez1976 If you would like to send to me, I am happy to pass along to him as well.