We sit here under the warmth of a tree that is supposed to mean something, but some people are striving under other trees just to stay warm and dry. Maybe they lost their home or jobs — whatever the circumstance, the reality is that the homeless are here in our community, without a place to live and thrive.

A man came to me and told me he was buying a tent for a family who had lost their home. There are children living under the Boalch Avenue bridge, he said. He gladly took some old foam, which I was going to dump, for folks who needed it, folks who didn’t have a bed to sleep on.

I’d like to propose a way to help them, for it seems like that should be our duty. Refugees are treated better, and so are animals — far better. What do we do but ignore the homeless? We give them money, food, clothes, but they need a home, like any refugee or human being.

Can our community be an example of a rampant nationwide problem? Who has the answers? Well, there are answers, if you believe, think creatively and search for solutions. I see a refugee camp for our own homeless community as a viable, practical solution.

I think it’s time we bow our heads, accept our own epidemic problems and search to solve them. I’m asking (our) leaders to be creative and solve this inhumane disaster. That is what leaders are for: service to humanity.

Forget the fancy swimming pools, spas and community center. Use that time, money and energy towards a homeless refuge here in the Valley. And declare it a disaster, so we don’t have to wait three years for the permits to pass.

Mary Pong, Snoqualmie