I love the Op-Ed section of the paper. I believe we all need to write at least one letter on something we’re passionate about in our lifetime. In saying that, I applaud this reader

At a time when public conversation so often highlights division and drama, I continue to witness something very different here in Seattle: people from across our city coming together to care for neighbors who are suffering on our streets.

Every day of the year I see volunteers, generous donors and everyday citizens of goodwill showing up with compassion — offering things like friendship, hot meals, emergency shelter and housing support, along with chaplaincy, case management and free medical care. These gestures change lives. They remind us of who we are when we choose to treat one another with dignity.

There are many wonderful organizations that help create spaces where this kind of care can happen. Powerful, life-affirming work is being done by community members who refuse to look away — refuse to treat people like problems to be solved — and instead step forward with love. Their commitment gives me hope.

There is good stuff happening in Seattle, even amid the suffering. Let’s keep noticing the good that is already unfolding — and keep finding ways to join in. At our organization we like to say that “we move at the pace of the community’s love of neighbor.”

Deacon Frank DiGirolamo