Chester Co. mom starts clothing donation organization in honor of son who experienced homelessness

A Chester County mother is working to show that her son’s life and death mattered and wants others to know that no matter the struggle, your life matters too.

She launched RC Clothing in honor of her son who experienced homelessness before he died in a car crash.

Alice Ciocco says her son began to struggle from a young age and for more than a decade she and her family tried to help him with his mental health issues.

While she says he had access to resources, for many it’s not enough.

This is why Ciocco is trying to buy time for others and show them that people care.

“Rob was creative and intelligent and he was in the gifted program. A super funny guy, basically a big teddy bear,” Ciocco says of her son.

It’s how she remembers her son, but she’ll always live with the unhappy memories too.

“In second grade, he was having a hard time focusing or paying attention in class,” she said.

From then, his life had its ups and downs and his mental health issues slowly took over.

“It can happen to anyone,” Ciocco explained.

Despite help and intervention, Rob became homeless as self-medication and his mental health were proving a battle too fierce to fight.

Then, he was killed after being hit by a car while he was walking along a highway.

“Rob’s life was cut short because he was in an episode, a psychotic episode, and he decided to just walk south with the clothes on his back, nothing else,” Ciocco said. “And, he made it to Georgia and was hit by a car.”

Ciocco knows that you can’t force others to get help or take shelter, but you can give a gift. It could be clothing or a poncho for shelter, and little dignity and love.

After Rob’s death, RC Clothing was born to give anyone experiencing homelessness new clothes with reflective material so they are hopefully not missed at night and accidentally harmed like Rob.