Letter of the day: Homeless for the holidays, and all year -- why can't we help?

After completing the March to End Homelessness last week, I sat with hundreds of others for the memorial service afterward. It was powerful hearing from those who spend their days and nights on the street, because they have nowhere else to go. They told what it's like to be invisible in the midst of plenty and when seen what it's like to be victims of violence by security guards and even cops. They told of being treated with chemo for cancer and then being forced to recuperate under a bridge, and how criminals are treated better than people who are homeless, because at least they have warm meals and a place to sleep. As the number of homeless individuals and families grows, I was struck by how we have failed as a society. A familiar quote kept ringing in my ears. When I got the chance to look up the source, I was surprised to find the author was President Bush, speaking at a graduation ceremony in May 2004 at Concordia University in Mequon, Wis.: "You can fairly judge the character of society by how it treats the weak, the vulnerable, the most easily forgotten." I've appreciated the stories in the Star Tribune this past week that shed insight into the insanity of forcing people who are lacking mental and physical health onto the street. The churches and shelters will continue to pick up the heart-breaking pieces, but we must demand more of our City Council, Hennepin County Board and state officials. Those who judge this society in the future will recognize that it settled for policies that were both inhumane and ineffective. That's not how I want my children's and grandchildren's generations to remember mine. LYNN NELSON, MINNEAPOLIS