In response to “What to do about homeless around library?” Auburn Reporter, Dec. 9):

Before we call in the police to move the people along because they are “loitering” outside the Auburn Library, maybe the question should be asked, “Why are they there in the first place?”

They come to the library with their backpacks and grocery carts piled up with their “stuff” because this is a safe, dry place where bathrooms are available. Where are they to go? When you have no home or nothing to do each day, you need somewhere to go.

Thank you, Police Chief Bob Lee, for treating them with compassion and respect and not as an inconvenience. The homeless have many different stories and backgrounds, but they have gotten into a life situations that aren’t easy to overcome.

The William C. Warren building in Veterans Memorial Park is open when temperatures drop into the 30s. But the homeless can’t get in the building until 9 or 10 p.m. and have to be out by 7 a.m. It has been bitterly cold and wet these past few days, and this facility is only open during extreme weather. Where are the homeless supposed to go? Our community has no specific plan to help them.

Lastly, I take personal exception to the term “feeding program” in the article. Seven days a week meals are prepared for the homeless, low income, senior citizens or anyone in our community. For more than 10 years I’ve planned and cooked for the “Monday Night Supper.”

These are not wild animals, but people who deserve our concern and consideration.

– Sue Bregel