DIGNITY FUND FOR SPEEDY

Dear YES Community, 

We are grieving.

Many of you have heard the devastating news of the passing of Jonathan Gross belovedly known as Speedy. Speedy has been a YES family member for over 3 years. He was an advocate for youth experiencing homelessness, educated the public and policymakers about the experience of being homeless both locally and nationally.  His infectious smile could light up a room.  He recently moved into his own place, was a dedicated father, and had a huge community of friends who loved him so, so deeply. 

YES youth and staff are shocked, devastated, and trying to cope with this loss. Speedy’s body has yet to be claimed and YES has decided to step in. We want to prevent his body from becoming state property, which occurs 72 hours after a person passes, and is often what happens to folks who have experienced homelessness. It is important to us to provide dignity for Speedy during this transition. 

The YES community wants to honor the life of Speedy by providing a funeral for him. If you want to help us reach our goal of $4,000, please click the donate button and provide what you can.  Also please comment below if you would like to leave a message of support or share a memory.

Any funds raised in excess of this cost will go toward a Dignity Fund, to ensure we can cover funeral costs if they come up, and act quickly in the short window we’re allotted when this happens.

Funeral plans are being arranged and any updates on location and times will be posted here. 

As always, we thank you for your generous support – especially in times like these. We appreciate the sense of community that YES supporters provide. As we deal with this tragedy and try to make sense of this loss it helps to know that we are connected to a larger community that “has our back.”