She risked it all to lead her son to safety. Here’s why she’s thankful for Bradenton

Four-year-old Dacian Sunset was playing along Riverwalk Tuesday afternoon. His long blonde hair tied up behind him trailed in the breeze as he ran toward the playground.

Technically, Dacian’s fourth birthday is in January, but he was insistent that he was no longer 3.

He looked like that any minute he could walk out on stage, get behind a drum set and rock an audience’s world. He loves live music and more often than not, local bands invite him on stage to rock out with them while he breaks out imaginary drum sticks and pretends to bang away on his air drums.

He looks like a little rock star, the Brett Michaels of 4-year-olds.

“Yeah, I get a lot of feedback about his hair being too long and that he looks like a rocker,” said his mother, DeAdra.

What people don’t know is that Dacian is autistic and that his mother is growing his hair out to donate it to another child battling cancer. It’s one of the few ways Sunset and Dacian have to give back to a community that has not only embraced her, but saved their lives.

Three years ago Sunset escaped an abusive relationship and she risked everything to get herself and her son to safety. She spent three months homeless and living in their van in the outskirts of Chicago, and as the cold of winter began to set in, headed for the warmer climate of Florida.

She found her way to Bradenton. And though she spent more than two more weeks homeless, life began to turn for the better as she got a taste of the Friendly City.

“Things were starting to get really unsafe so in order to raise him to be a respectful man toward me and women in general, we had to leave,” Sunset said. “He wasn’t going to have the best role model and that was at a time when I didn’t even know yet that he was going to have special needs. I knew it was going to be tough coming down here, but I had to do it for him.

“Everything in my life was falling short of real happiness, so that’s what I did,” she said. “I sold everything and packed up my most cherished items and made the trip.”

Sunset soon ran into one of the biggest challenges in Manatee County: finding an affordable place to live.

She found one, however, but it wasn’t going to be ready for a few more days and others were looking at it.

“It was tough,” Sunset said. “I got really scared. Here I am sleeping in a van, running out of money and if I don’t find a place soon, I won’t even have enough. I told the landlord, ‘Please. I have an 8-month-old.’ He said, ‘Can you meet me on my lunch break.’ He’s been wonderful and really works with me.”

Things began to look up for Sunset and Dacian as a couple of years passed. They struggled and continue to do so, but they were surviving. Last Christmas, she took her son to the Salvation Army Christmas dinner, unaware of the people that were about to come into her life.

“It provided a bit of a family feel and it was a nice meal,” Sunset said. “The Bradenton Herald interviewed me as part of the story they were doing about the Salvation Army at Christmas and that’s when people began reaching out to us. Everyone is so fond of my son and they are like my sisters. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it.

“I feel like coming to Bradenton was literally supposed to happen,” she said. “I can’t even find words to describe how different it is for us and to other women who are in the situation I was, if you aren’t being respected and valued, it’s not worth it. There are people who will be good to you and help you through life instead of keeping you down. Especially here where I have found so many people who care about us.”

Sunset and Dacian have a long way to go in their journey, but this Thanksgiving she has a lot for which to be grateful.

“I wake up everyday and I like my life,” Sunset said. “I’m grateful I have a stable home and for the people in my life right now. I feel more secure. I don’t have the finances that extend past our basic needs, but if I have a need, I can reach out to some of the ladies and they find a way to make it happen. I’m grateful for them, for the friendliness of this place. Everyone is so nice.”

Sunset and Dacian are prime examples of why Bradenton’s charitable and homeless organizations are important for those in genuine need. From the pantries that help put food on the table at the end of the month when the family is down to $5 in the bank account, to the fresh produce they offer that is critical for Dacian’s development, “I am grateful to them all,” Sunset said.

A lot of the organizations are professionally run or faith-based in nature, but there is also an active small army of street warriors in Bradenton who work to get people to understand that their mission isn’t about the aggressive panhandlers that give the homeless a bad name at times. It’s about people like the Sunsets.

“DeAdra and others like her benefit benefit greatly from the community coming together by raising awareness of services available,” said Laura Licoski, founder of Facing Homelessness Bradenton, a grassroots organization intent to give a voice to the homeless community.

“Seeing from the public point of view the strides we have made as a community and the gaps we still need to fill,” Licoski said. “Looking through the eyes of those we serve opens our eyes and minds, allowing us to grow. Through open communication, we can all benefit and learn how to better serve each other and be better examples to other cities as well.”

For the Sunsets, the Florida sun is rising. It’s warm. It’s bright and holds a future, though struggles and obstacles are ahead.

Sunset’s van broke down a short time after arriving in Bradenton. Someone donated her a car and another person helped her get insurance. But she found out that a 2006 traffic ticket in Chicago she was unaware of caused her license to be suspended and it will cost $1,300 to get it cleared up after years of accruing penalties.

She walks everywhere and uses a donated double stroller to not only get Dacian around, but it doubles as something of a SUV-style vehicle when she goes to the grocery store.

“I can really pack that sucker full,” Sunset said with a smile. “It’s hard. I’m not a young mother. I’m a 48-year-old mother with a son with special needs and I’m exhausted. But I’m the only one he has. God is waking me up for another day and if we are taking about Thanksgiving, I’m grateful for that.”

This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 12:00 PM.