I’m a starfish thrower. And so is Dianne Weichel. We know we can’t solve the homeless problem, but we can make life a little better for Bobby & Laurel Hunsaker.

There’s a lot to unpack in the above statement. Let’s start with starfish throwing.

In 1969, Loren Eiseley, a professor and writer, published an essay called “The Star Thrower.” The essay became a parable that has been retold and revised many times.

Essentially, the story tells of a violent storm at sea that washed thousands of starfish onto the beach. A young man walks along the beach throwing starfishes back into the waves.

A cynical older man asks the young man what he’s doing. The young man explains the starfish will die on the beach under the blistering sun, so he’s throwing back them into the ocean to save them.

The old man points out there are hundreds of miles of beach and thousands of starfish. “What difference could you possibly make?” asked the old skeptic.

The young man picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back to safety, he replied, “It makes a difference to this one.”

The throwers

Dianne is a board member of Sierra Roots, a small, Nevada County nonprofit that serves the homeless people of Nevada City and Grass Valley. Dianne is also the volunteer food and clothing manager for Sierra Roots’ weekly lunches, and in extreme weather, she coordinates food and clothing at the cold weather shelter Sierra Roots runs in partnership with Nevada County.

Readers of my column know that I am the creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project. Funded by a grant from the Upstate California Creative Corps, I am documenting the human stories of people struggling to survive homelessness.

Bobby and Laurel are why I do this job.

To make it perfectly clear, neither Dianne nor I are acting on behalf of Sierra Roots. We are simply being private citizens trying to make a difference for a deserving couple who have clawed their way out of drug addiction and homelessness.

The starfish

Broke. Homeless. Sleeping on the ground in the weather. Addicted to drugs. Laurel’s drug of choice was alcohol. Bobby was losing his teeth to methamphetamine.

Strung out, cold, wet, and hungry, they were told by a friend, probably Monte Cazazza (1949-2023, R.I.P.), about the cold weather shelter where they would be welcome without any hassle.

That’s where they met Dianne and other Sierra Roots staff and volunteers who made them feel welcomed and loved with no preaching or judgement.

On Feb. 1, 2024, I interviewed Bobby and Laurel for the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project. “Coming into the warming shelter and being introduced to the Sierra Roots program was a godsend … because we weren’t judged,” Bobby said.

“We were loved, like a mother’s love, unconditional love,” added Laurel, tears filling her eyes. “Sierra Roots has been there the whole time we’ve been out on the streets,” she said.

Feeling “empowered” for the first time in five years, they made a mutual decision on Feb. 1, 2023, to get clean and sober. Remarkably, they completed their sobriety program in three months (it usually takes a year). They acquired an old car, and both got jobs at the SPD Market in Nevada City, They found a home in an illegal trailer (it was the only thing they could find or afford) more than five miles out of town.

To their credit, they now volunteer to work at Sierra Roots. They are role models to their friends who are still homeless and addicted.

Things were going great until last week when their car died an unrepairable death. Without a car, they have no way to get to work and will lose their jobs.

the big ask

Dianne immediately assisted them in renting a car.  “They have worked so hard to get to a good place. They are not losing their jobs on my watch,” Dianne declared.

Bobby and Laurel Hunsaker have shown remarkable courage and personal responsibility to overcome drug addiction and homelessness – and to come back to help others find their way out of dead-end lives.

Several other people and I have contributed to keep them on the road and employed because Bobby and Laurel give us all hope.

We’ve found a temporary loaner car for them, but they need a car of their own. They have saved enough money for a down payment, and they are prepared to make regular payments.

“Please know our hearts are so full right now of gratitude and love,” Bobby wrote in a text to Dianne. “It is really important to us to not slip into our old life. This is a huge blow to us.”

If you can find it  in your hearts or garage to donate or sell a reliable car,  contact me at tjdurkin3@gmail.com or 530-559-3199. Please make a difference for these worthy starfishes.

June 12, 2024 at 12:30 PM Editor’s note: A GoFundMe has been established to collect donations. https://gofund.me/1e8f2a78