VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Hitting the road is only getting more expensive. According to AAA, 64 million American drivers would be unable to pay for unexpected car repairs without going into debt. That is one in three drivers.

It’s a huge issue that one Volusia County man is working to tackle through his new non-profit called Fix It Forward.

You can usually find Ed Rosa with a tool in his hand.

“I have always worked on my cars, I have always liked turning wrenches as they say,” said Rosa.

After retiring from the Army in 2019 and moving to Florida, he expected to spend his time on the golf course, but instead found a different calling.

“I have some PTSD from my time in combat in the military. This helps me clear my mind, this helps me feel a lot better than any medication. Helping people out, that is why I do it,” said Rosa.

He started out helping friends and family with their car repair until he saw a greater problem.

“I would fix them for free, my friends and my wife’s friends and I saw the need. The amount of people that just couldn’t afford to fix their cars and I started doing it out of my own pocket, buying the parts, volunteering to do the labor and realized that it was a much bigger problem just with my personal finances so I decided to open a nonprofit,” said Rosa.

The non-profit, which he started about two months ago, is called Fix It Forward. With that, he travels around Central Florida helping those in need with their car troubles. Spectrum News 13 caught up to him while helping a like this family in Minneola who ran over some fencing that fell off a truck in front of them.

“Whatever she drove over, the fencing, missed the oil pan but it hit the transmission housing and it did separate the transmission housing, it lost all the fluid. This is another one of those unexpected that could really impact a family’s financial and there their status of this being the only car for the family, it is definitely a hardship for them," said Rosa.

Rosa donates his time and tools and uses all the donations to buy parts to fix the cars. He takes applications online, focusing on those who need his help the most, like the homeless, disabled vets and the elderly. So far, the response has been overwhelming. 

“I just started with the non-profit but I have been busy the whole time. I am up to 16 cars that I have helped in the last three weeks and I have about 27 that are on the waiting list waiting for me to have the time and the money to purchase parts,” said Rosa

He takes mechanic classes in the morning and then travels around, working on multiple cars a day,  knowing what a huge problem this is. He hopes to help keep people from making tough decisions.

“People don’t have a choice. It’s whether fix your car or pay your rent and they drive their cars until the wheels fall off literally and there is nothing they can do because they have to feed their families. They have to  pay  for a roof over their heads so it effects everybody. It effects everybody on the road and if we can get one car to be safe on the road that makes everybody that much safer,” said Rosa.

He does run into instances, like in this case, where he can’t get the car up and running on his own.

“So, what happens now is I will try to resource, try to find a mechanic that would be willing to donate their time to fix the transmission and see if you non-profit Fix It Forward will cover it so we can get this family on the road,” said Rosa.

In the meantime, Rosa continues to expand his skills and his network, hoping one day fix any problem he encounters.

“That’s what I want to be able to do in the future and have a shop and have full mechanics working and helping people out, hopefully that will come in due time,” said Rosa.

If you are eligible and need help from Fix It Forward, fill out an application here. If you would like help support Rosa’s mission, you can contact him here.