Hello! For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sky Gardner. Last year I came to all of you to help me support the homeless youth of San Diego to make our kids here feel like normal kids. We had originally set out to raise $725 to buy clean underwear and backpacks for the kids here. From an amazing demonstration of empathy and care for our community, we were able to raise $3,350 in under 4 days. This love helped to bring 570 pairs of women’s underwear, 504 men’s briefs, and 186 backpacks to the San Diego community and changed the lives of the children in ways we will never fully be able to grasp. I come back to you now asking that you give the same love you do to your children to a boy in San Diego who needs your help.

Sergio Perez has been homeless on the streets of San Diego for 4 years. He’s now 18 years old and was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a consuming and exhausting cancer. Although he was born and raised in San Diego, his parents, who did not speak English and relied on him to help them navigate US culture, were deported by Homeland Security when he was 14 and he was suddenly and unexpectedly left alone by himself.. He found a safe place to shelter during the days at YAC but when he started feeling symptoms of the cancer he had to go on his own to the hospital. Left to the mercy of the system he was misdiagnosed over and over again. Eventually, his pain was so extreme that he felt he was having a heart attack and was rushed to a hospital where he was finally diagnosed properly.

For the very first time, Sergio did not have to take care of himself, he was getting the care he needed. For the first time, he could be a child, not a parent. I will never be able to fully understand the weight of his journey. Take a moment to think about what you were doing between the ages of 14 and 18. Were you studying hard for finals, dealing with girlfriend or boyfriend troubles, going on family vacations, or thinking about what the newest trend is? Were you thinking about where you were going to sleep that night though? Although these teen years feel like the world is blowing up in our faces, most of us experienced it with stability. I am a teenage girl and I cannot imagine not having a place to spend the night on top of everything I am dealing with. If you have a teenager, think about what it would be like if they didn’t know they could come home to you or depend on someone for new clothes or a meal. We are privileged to live the life we do, whether we want to admit it or not, but that is not the standard, that is the exception.

Sergio is making progress, but he’s not out of the woods yet and needs help to fully recover. He is still in the hospital but when he is cleared to leave he has been offered the home of a kind woman, who is choosing to remain anonymous at this moment. One of the main donors of YAC, a local church, sent out an email asking if anyone could watch over Sergio while he does chemo, within 10 hours the woman replied joyfully offering her home.

Despite everything Sergio has gone through he is brilliantly charismatic, positive and full of life. He has been in the hospital since March and since then has undergone four procedures in an attempt to locate built-up fluid in his lungs and has had over 6 blood clots removed from his body.

Sergio plans to return to school and become a child advocate at the hospital. He wants to work on getting his GED and pursue the medical field to support other kids who are going through what he is. He is selfless and so full of love that his focus is already on how he can give back. Now it is our turn. In one month we aspire to, with your help, raise $5,000 for transportation, over-the-counter medications and everything else he needs to best heal whilst undergoing intense rounds of Chemo. We are privileged with the ability to help Sergio and through him help so many other kids. He is the future. He is still fighting and we need to fight for him too. Let’s be the change together, if not us then who?

For more updates see the official Instagram of YAC @youthassistancecoalitionsd