The most helpful guy in Jenner is now the one needing our help. Most locals know Rob McShea as the friendly fellow at the Jenner C Store where he worked for over 15 years. If anyone needed help, he stepped up. Where most people might look on at other folks' troubles or turn away, Rob was the guy that rushed forward to help.

When a truck ran off the road and into the river, it was Rob that ran across the highway, throwing off his clothes to dive into the water—over and over again—trying to rescue the trapped driver. When he observed an intruder on the roof of Jilly's Real Food Roadhouse, he bounded across the street to force the fellow to leave. And when a kitchen fire broke out, Rob was the first on the scene with a fire extinguisher.

Anyone that showed up at the C Store that needed help, Rob went out of his way to assist—often spotting total strangers to a gallon of gas out of his own pocket. And these are just a few examples of Rob's good citizenship that has made him a real local hero and a true asset to our community.

Over the last couple of years, Rob has suffered the deterioration of his knees and shoulders, requiring several surgeries. He was able to squeak by on state disability but was just informed that he has exhausted those funds and will not be receiving any further assistance.

And his rent is due in 2 weeks and without his disability check he has no way of paying it. And worse, his car's tires are so bald that no tire service will even rotate them. And, of course, he has no money for even used tires. Because of his car's precarious condition, Rob is only driving as little as possible, which makes trying to cobble together some part-time jobs more of a challenge. And if he loses his home and must live in his car, the car is not roadworthy enough to be driven to a safe location nightly.

We as a community need to show up for Rob, as he has shown up for so many of us. We need to keep him here and prevent him from becoming homeless.

In May, Rob will be eligible to start drawing early on his social security, so we just need to raise enough money to get him from here to there.