Dec. 16

I wanted to provide an update on my son, Shonlee.

I got to see my son today for the first time since he was shot on December 1st. With all the complications, he has not been able to have visitors and has had to work on his recovery all by himself. When I told him about everyone’s generosity and how they have been praying for him, he became emotional and had a good cry. It was great to see him today and he should be coming home soon.

I want to give a HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated, said prayers, and kept Shonlee in their hearts and minds over these last two weeks. Please continue to keep him in your prayers and good thoughts and please consider sharing this go fund me for him as he still has a long road to recovery.

Thank you everyone!!!

Gil

My son Shonlee was a victim of gun violence on Monday, December 1st, 2025. He is currently fighting for his life and due to some complications, his family is not allowed to see him right now. I have started this gofundme in hopes of securing funds to help my son get the healing and justice that he needs to recover.

About my son Shonlee: I met Shon when he was about 7 years old, I was working at an elementary school at the time. I was supervising a before-and-after school recreation site and was also a teacher’s aide in the classroom he was placed in. When his foster parents enrolled him, I was seeing him about 9 hours a day and over time, I got to know him well. He was a tough kid and would sometimes get into fights. His speech sometimes made him difficult to understand and a lot of people dismissed him as a bad kid. But anytime kids would fight in my rec program, I would sit them down and process the fight with them. Shonlee would end up in my office from time to time for fighting and what I found out was that he was actually getting into fights to protect someone. He was fighting the bullies to protect the little guys. Justice was always in his heart. Over two years, I got to see Shon grow and make a lot of progress.

As I got to know him, I learned how tough his little life had been before. Him and his brother were taken by CPS when he was 2 and his brother was 5. They were placed with their grandma at the time but when he was 5, CPS removed them and placed them in a regular foster home. When he was about 7, he was separated from his brother and placed in Treatment foster care. Shonlee experienced a lot of loss at such a young age.

After about 2 years in my program and classroom, his Treatment foster parents made a decision to stop fostering and he was placed in a new home and all the progress he made started to go down the drain. I saw him struggling with life and when he asked me if I could be his dad, I couldn’t say no. I ended up adopted him in 2001 and he became a part of my family. Shonlee stayed in touch with his brother, grandmother and lots of other extended family. He is lucky enough to have two families that care very much about him.

When he was about 22, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. This changed everything for him. I was glad to find out what was happening to my son because his behavior had become so bizarre but schizophrenia is a very debilitating disability and Shon did not initially participate in treating his schizophrenia. He refused to take meds and became homeless and was in and out of jail and on the streets for about 5 or 6 years. The last time he was in jail, they referred him to a program where he would get a shot once a month and it was a life changer. I felt like I got my son back. He was able to maintain in a group home for about 4 years and about 3½ years ago, we bought a house together and he’s been back living with me since. Shon likes to chill at home and has gotten to know some of our neighbors well and they tend to look out for him during the day.

Shonlee has a strong aversion to guns and what happened to him on Monday was a senseless instance of gun violence that will affect him for the rest of his life. Our family is very appreciative of all donations that come in to support his recovery and our search for justice for Shonlee. If you cannot donate, please send prayers and good thoughts to him, these are also highly appreciated.