Columbia, SC — I found Grace DeBold’s Dec. 9 letter, “Homelessness not appealing,” informative and insightful. Most especially, it is not appealing to our fellow citizens who are in the various stages of homelessness — from those mired in hopeless destitution to those who are spiraling upward out of homelessness. It is not appealing to those of us who live in comfort and see fellow citizens with no place to sleep but the streets — no place to eat but soup kitchens.

Ms. DeBold’s words about homeless people diminishing the appeal of our community are strong and compelling. I am reminded of the many times that such words have inspired the removal of unappealing people — the noble Cherokees, Japanese-Americans during World War II, Chinese after they built our railroads, Jews, gypsies, gays, retarded in Germany.

It is not clear in her letter what solution Ms. DeBold would suggest for removing the unappealing homeless citizens of Columbia.

Our homeless neighbors are reminders that our lifestyles could change in an instant — with catastrophic events, illness, loss of work, on and on. This is indeed not appealing.

Von Williams

Columbia