It’s encouraging to see so many in our community, from government to social services to private residents, taking the problem of homelessness seriously.

It can be a source of pride, and perhaps fitting of a military community, that we aren’t satisfied to leave people behind.

From the efforts to build a tent city in Bremerton to a man’s mission to develop a collection of cabins in East Bremerton, these efforts show that the people of Central Kitsap are interested in action.

More often than not, the poor are blamed for their hardships and humiliations. Poverty is seen by some as the culmination of a series of “personal decisions.”

It may make those of us with jobs, with homes, with families and loved ones feel better about ourselves, to somehow think that because we have food, shelter, access to education and health care, we are better people, rather than people with better luck.

Missing in these superficial, almost comical explanations for why somebody else suffers disproportionately, is the fact that some of us have a larger margin for error than others. Some of us are born on third base, while others step to the plate with two strikes.

It isn’t likely that the playing field will be leveled any time soon, but it is nice to see that compassion and reason is alive and well in our neighborhoods.