"I'll Wash Dishes for a Meal"
Jesse has a hard working nature about him. When I arrived with dessert at the Sierra Roots lunch in Pioneer Park, Jesse ran up to me to carry my load to the picnic tables. It is automatic for him to respond in that way.
When asked about his story of homelessness, he shares that his tree climbing seasonal work doesn’t allow him to make enough to afford housing in Nevada County. So he has been living in the woods for several years. He wants to shift perceptions about disrespectful homeless people trashing the woods. This man has been communing and respecting nature during his stay in the woods, and making friends with the quiet and the animals.
He is a worker. He has been volunteering for Divine Spark for 8 years, and now serves as a volunteer for Sierra Roots. Jesse will wash dishes for a meal, and I’ll bet you could see yourself shine in those plates. He and his community want to set a standard, and make things better.
He is a very sensitive man, who has somehow survived in the woods, loving every animal, and tearing up when he sees a commercial. He has adopted a view from Sierra Roots Founder, Janice O’Brien, the power of positivity. He says, “Janice will give the shirt off her back. She goes out of the way to help. I love her.”
Listening to Jesse may just change the way you see homeless people.