Oscar and Francisco
Last August, Oscar’s partner of seventeen years, Francisco, passed away unexpectedly. Because Oscar and Francisco’s partnership was not legally established, he was unable to gather information on why Francisco had passed, view his body, or collect his ashes.
Oscar and Francisco, both from El Salvador, were family. They stayed together through bouts of homelessness, cooking for each other and walking each other to work and medical appointments. Seventeen years of love, respect, and devotion.
Working as a fisherman, Francisco loved the beach and he told Oscar that when he died, he wanted to be at the beach forever.
After struggling for months with the San Francisco Medical Examiner, Oscar established proof of his relationship with Francisco. He learned that Francisco’s heart condition caused his untimely death and now he can retrieve Francisco’s ashes and give him the send away he requested.
Getting Francisco’s ashes not only required time, energy and documentation but also money. Oscar came to Project Homeless Connect looking for the $980 he needs to get Francisco’s ashes, and we are turning to you, our community, to help meet his need.
What We Need
$980.00 is needed to retrieve Francisco’s ashes from the San Francisco Medical Examiner. Your donated funds will go to paying for this cost and assisting others like Oscar. You can donate here.
The Impact
As we know, finding and securing housing is challenging, what isn’t readily apparent is the work it takes to stay housed. Paying bills, negotiating with landlords – tasks that many of us do without thinking. Emotional as well as physical and financial health is necessary to stay housed and stable in the face of loss and uncertainty.
While Oscar is meeting his other financial obligations, he is struggling and he cannot shoulder this added cost. The loss of Francisco was a blow to his support network and his emotional stability and it has been a long six months.
Your donation will not only retrieve Francisco’s ashes but will bring Oscar immeasurable peace and closure.
Other Ways You Can Help
You can help Oscar by encouraging your friends, community or church to contribute. A modest donation from many will help us reach our goal just as quickly as a large donation from a few!
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