Help Us Bring Patricia Home

Patricia Bonilla is a gifted artist whose work has touched many lives across California. Born in El Salvador, Patricia came to the United States as a small child, carried in her mother’s arms in search of a better life. Her mother—an incredibly hardworking woman—sacrificed everything to provide Patricia with an education and a future filled with promise. Despite growing up in poverty, Patricia thrived, rising in the art world with a quiet resilience and passion that captured the attention of galleries and museums alike.

But behind Patricia’s talent and success, she has quietly battled a lifelong struggle with epilepsy and other health issues. In March 2025, Patricia went missing. For months, her loved ones feared the worst. She had been the victim of a violent assault and robbery on the streets of Los Angeles—left alone, vulnerable, and stripped of her identification and legal U.S. residency documents.

For weeks, no one knew where she was.

Then, in June, a call came from the El Salvadoran Consulate: Patricia had been found in Tijuana—gravely ill and struggling to manage her epilepsy. She had no ID, no medication, and no way to prove her legal status in the U.S. Despite efforts to show she was a permanent resident, Mexican authorities began the process of deporting her to El Salvador—a country she hasn't known since she was a toddler, a country where she has no family, no home, and no means of survival.

To make matters worse, Patricia was admitted to a psychiatric hospital after suffering a mental health breakdown. Since June 10, no one in her family has been able to speak with her directly. The hospital has informed us that they are ready to release her—but only into a care facility, which we would need to pay for ourselves. She is alone, scared, and in a country that is completely unfamiliar to her.

Then came the most heartbreaking moment of all: A kind friend visited Patricia and lent her a phone. When we finally heard her voice, it was trembling. We had to tell her the unthinkable—her mother, her only immediate family, had passed away the week before. Patricia broke down in tears. She was grieving, disoriented, and utterly alone in a foreign place, without even the comfort of saying goodbye to the woman who gave everything for her future.

We are desperately trying to bring Patricia home. She has lost her legal documents, her health is fragile, and her spirit is broken. She needs medical care, emotional support, and a safe place to heal. But above all—she needs her community now more than ever.

If you know Patricia, or even if you don’t—please, help us. Every small act of kindness counts. We are raising funds to cover her medical care, legal support, and transportation back to the United States.

Let’s bring Patricia home. Let’s show her she’s not forgotten.