SANDPOINT — The idea came to 25-year-old Leo Hunsaker about a month ago while lying in bed, unable to fall asleep at night. In a myriad of racing thoughts about COVID-19, Hunsaker sprung up searching for a breath after his heart suddenly stopped. He had found what he was looking for — a reason to start his own non-profit organization.

In 37 days Come Together, North Idaho has helped over 5,000 people with needs ranging from baby wipes and care packages to grocery and gas carts to even assisting an Idaho resident with thirty days of shelter in a motel room while sorting through rental payments. The goal for Hunsaker and his 10 other board members is to give people a place to request or donate services no matter how big or how small.

“I was homeless for three years in Boise and it got to the point where I was sleeping on park benches going to convenience stores and stores like Walmart and going to their trash at night to get food to eat,” Hunsaker said. “So, part of this is I don’t want anyone to struggle with what I went through and I know how hard it is to ask for help.”

CTNI’s mission is to provide an all-encompassing non-profit organization unlike many organizations that offer limited services or receive only specific donations. In addition, Hunsaker hopes to create a network for non-profit organizations to refer one another as a back-up resource if a request cannot be fulfilled.

“He has one of the biggest hearts I have ever seen so if somebody messages us and says, ‘Hey I need this and we don’t have the funds available at the time,’ he will spend his last dollar and get that for that person and put himself in a little bit of a spot,” CTNI vice president Katie Smith said. “I love that he does that, but that’s one of the reasons that we do need donations.”

Smith is 21 years old, pursuing volunteer work as the youngest board member while taking care of her son and balancing a college-level course load. She reached out to this organization after looking for resources to help her child. Once she built care packages for another lady in need, she decided to reach out to Hunsaker for a more involved role within the organization.

“She just hit every check mark that I had and then I presented it to the board and it was a unanimous vote,” Hunsaker said. From there, the team has continually expanded job roles, resources and ideas for community outreach.

Hunsaker resides in Sandpoint and has representatives in other parts of Idaho to track needs in other cities as well. Those cities are Bonners Ferry, Athol, Rathdrum, Coeur d’Alene, Hayden and Post Falls. He assigns drivers to meet halfway for dropping off and receiving supplies as needed.

In addition, Hunsaker has a grant writer and media specialist, and has even enlisted his mom as an officer of the organization.

“She is very anal retentive when it comes to money and organization which I love, if her checkbook is off by a penny for a month she is on the phone until she gets that figured out,” He said. “Her heart is what built up my heart, because even as a young kid … she was always proactive helping out.”

Currently the team is looking for a volunteer personal assistant. Hunsaker said his work weeks typically run around 80 hours per week.

“I am disabled so this is pretty much my full-time job,” Hunsaker said. “I’ve had mental health issues since I was a little kid but what really hit me is having an autoimmune disease.”

At times Hunsaker is unable to do the heavy lifting required for donation pick-up, but he enjoys sitting at a desk and connecting resources. This administrative work, he said, is what has given him purpose following a difficult time in his life.

“December of 2019 was the last time I attempted suicide and I struggled a lot with depression and self-harm and it was after that there were some big changes in my life at the beginning of this year,” He said. “I feel like there is always a blessing in everything so even though there is this negative, the negative being that I am disabled, that is a blessing to me, because now I am able to run a non-profit organization and I am not having to juggle work and the non-profit. I can focus all of my time on the non-profit.”

Hunsaker wants anyone who is struggling, especially during this pandemic, to know that through struggle there is hope. “They still have value and they still are an essential part of our community,” he said.

In one month, CTNI has received over 30,000 Facebook posts and hundreds of donations that have completely filled their storage spaces. Hunsaker said all that’s left to do is keep growing, which includes finding sponsors to buy a $2,000 box truck for deliveries and drop off. This box truck will be used for “Giving Days” where representatives will collect and drop off donations. All sponsors will get a logo on the truck.

CTNI will also be handing out free bagged lunches every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Samuels Conoco, Sand Creek Schweitzer Conoco and Sagle Conoco until the end of the school year. A monthly food drive will also occur on Saturdays, dates to be determined.

In addition to the box truck and a new storage space, the team will take any monetary donations or supply donations, which can be dropped off at their office space, 120 C South Second Ave. Unit C4 Sandpoint Idaho 83864. Call (208) 605-7723 ahead of time, as the building will not accept drop-offs without a member present in the office.

Other open roles include volunteer coordinator, social media person and representative for Clark Fork and Hope and Hunsakers asks for applicants to email president@ctniinc.org. Community members can also email Hunsaker for more information on CTNI’s May 6 board meeting, where there will be time allocated for community feedback.

“I grew up here in Sandpoint and growing up I always had friends whose families were on food stamps or whose family was on medicaid, their moms were disabled, they were foster kids, all that kind of stuff,” Hunsaker said. “At such a young age recognizing that, I think that’s why I had this inspiration when I was around 18-years-old. I saw in Sandpoint there are people that need help and I think it’s something that has been needed and that’s why I started it to bridge that gap.”

Aly De Angelus can be reached by email at adeangelus@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @AlyDailyBee.