SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — For Sebastian Cruz-Sanchez, getting ready for the day doesn't just mean getting his backpack ready for school. Right now, the San Diego High School junior has a full plate and at least a 12-hour day ahead of him.
"It's a lot because from the school, there's work, and then there's like this little sliver for me," says Cruz-Sanchez with a smile.
He tells ABC 10News that he's the sole provider for his family at the moment.
"For our home, yes, because my mom wasn't able to work right now," he says.
His mother, Karina, is undergoing chemotherapy after a diagnosis shook their lives.
"They found out it was cancer, but they thought it was early, like stage one cancer on her liver," Cruz-Sanchez explains. "But they did more research, and they found out it was actually stage four cancer in her colon that it spread to her liver."
Between school, working to put food on the table, and homework, Sebastian has little to no time for anything else.
"The other day at my school, they had us do this activity, like, block out our, like, our schedule, and mine only had like, like 20 hours out of like 100 20 hours, like a week.
A new report shows this could be common among several Latino families in the area.
According to the State of Latinos Reportby the San Diego Foundation, on average, Latino San Diegans make around $28,000 less per year than White, non-Latino San Diegans.
This could be for a number of reasons, but the report highlights economic challenges, from systemic to language barriers.
For Sebastian, it's something he knows he has to do, not just for himself but for his family.
"I hope someday I can just chill and be a kid," he said.
AGoFundMe campaign has been set up for the family and has already raised more than $4,000. The family continues to take it day by day, but Karina says she's grateful for her son Sebastian stepping up for their family.
“I feel very proud because he's got responsibilities. They are a lot of responsibilities," she says. "But he's very strong, and he makes me strong. He's that the positive energy I need for me, and he's a very good, good son.”
