Referencing recent articles and opinions on the homeless, I think it is obvious that we need compassion, resources and understanding. Some people think that we need to treat them with so-called tough love and not mollycoddle them. I didn’t know that mollycoddling consisted of forcing people into rehab or imprisoning them. Or that mollycoddling them meant living in squalor, in the snow, cold and rain, in the grip of terror, and in other unmanageable and unimaginable conditions.

The difference between homeless individuals (not “the homeless”) and the rest of us is that they lead desperate lives outdoors while we lead them in more favorable circumstances. But mental and physical illness, alcoholism, addiction and despair do not haunt only homeless individuals, but the rest of us, too. Are we then to force everyone into rehab or prison? Are we to ostracize the vulnerable among us? Or are we more sympathetic and helpful to the rest of us just because we live in homes?

The cities try to hide so-called homeless encampments (what a word!), but I want them to be seen and to be heard in public places. Maybe then we can remind ourselves that individuals without homes need our understanding and help. Maybe then we can remind ourselves of what Phil Ochs said, “There but for fortune may go you or I.”

Teresa Carioti
Topsham

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