Countless communities across the country have struggled with the situation Vashon is facing with its Village Green. It’s disheartening on many levels.

It’s hard to see a sweet park occasionally turned into such a mess. It’s frustrating to know that a bathroom built at public expense is now nearly unusable. Most of all, it’s sad to see the reality of this intractable social and civic problem right in the heart of our town — the fact that a handful of people on this Island have nowhere to go or nothing better to do than to hang out in a park, often after hours and sometimes in a state of inebriation.

We believe the park district is right to focus on sanitation at the Village Green and push hard to address it.

We also believe that we Islanders need to live at peace with these men and women who spend the better part of their waking hours in the park, most of whom are decent people who have had difficult lives.

As Rebecca Wittman, the Farmers Market manager noted, they could be our brothers, our sons, our sisters, our daughters. Compassion is in order.

During a conversation with The Beachcomber the other night, some of them noted that they have few alternatives on Vashon — now that a large homeless camp behind the Roseballen housing development is gone. A few of the people who lived in the camp were able to get placed in housing, thanks to the Interfaith Council to Prevent Homelessness and Vashon HouseHold. But some couldn’t — or wouldn’t.

Even in the best of times, there’s a kind of homelessness that is very tough to address. These days, with the economy far from thriving and our social-welfare net tattered, we have far less to offer.

We applaud the park district’s effort to address the sorry state of the bathroom and the overall condition of this wonderful park — put into public ownership a dozen years ago by a community that recognized its worth.

We also hope we can maintain a spirit of goodwill and neighborliness as we pass through the park or linger there with a cup of coffee or a good book. It’s a public space, our town’s living room. Let’s share it with all our of neighbors, no matter their background or bearing. And let’s support the park district in their efforts to keep it clean.