Raul Acosta, 26, has been putting in countless hours of labor over the previous eight years in order to care for his seven younger siblings, ranging in age from three to sixteen.

When Raul was 18 years old, Perla, their mother, was sick. Because she was no longer able to provide for her family, the young man was compelled to quickly mature and take responsibility for the care of his siblings.

After some time, Perla passed away, and then, three years later, her partner and the father of her seven children went away as well.Raul did what he needed to do in order to keep his family together since, unfortunately, none of Raul’s other relatives were ready to take in the seven children.

“I was hoping someone in the family would take it over and bear the obligations,” Raul acknowledged, “although I had other aspirations for myself, I accepted the responsibility because you have to do what you have to do”.

Children’s Legal Services reached out to attorney Sandra Creta for assistance, and she agreed to provide the Acosta family with pro bono legal representation so that they may maintain their family unit. Raul was able to become the legal guardian and conservator of his siblings with the assistance of her.

“I wasn’t going to allow them to be placed in foster care or be separated from each other. So, I took the necessary steps to ensure that they remained a unit.  They’re decent young people,” she said.

When Creta first saw Raul, she said that she was “very amazed” by his level of maturity. When she came to know Raul, all of her concerns vanished, and she had no second thoughts about entrusting Raul with the care of seven children despite the fact that Raul was only 21 years old.

“The fact that he had already been making lunches, braiding hair, changing diapers, and spending the money from his work at Burger King to fix up the home, he was already acting in the paternal role for the little children.”

Raul’s life was difficult, yet he managed to provide for his family and care for his siblings by working as a tow truck driver. However, as a result of the epidemic causing his job hours to be cut down, he is now overdue on his home payments.

In December, he was no longer eligible for state benefits such as Medicaid as well as food and cash assistance.

If Raul is unable to make the entire payment of $13,728.40, then he and his siblings will be forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Fortunately, attorney Creta and her coworkers, Andrea Gutierrez and Danielle Graham, volunteered their services to assist the family.

Creta reached out to the Association of Sole Practitioners and Small Firms of Arizona to inquire about receiving assistance in transferring the mortgage loan that is now in Perla’s name to Raul’s name. “He didn’t ask for my assistance, but there was no way I was going to let this family lose their house,” the attorney said.

Raul said that they are working toward the goal of saving enough money to get their house repaired, since there are many sections in the house that now need maintenance. He said, “It’s not the nicest, but it’s a roof over our heads,” referring to their current living situation.

In addition, Andrea established a GoFundMe account in the siblings’ name in order to collect the funds necessary to avert the foreclosure. As of the time this article was written, the fund had raised close to $135,000 of its $40,000 target.

This ensures that Raul and his siblings will maintain ownership of the family house in which they were raised.

Some people have also inquired whether the children need clothes, but Raul is appreciative and says that they already own all of the necessary items for the time being.