Perhaps These Dilemmas are a Test of Our Values

  Not all so long after efforts to move the prison from Point of the Mountain -- even though it might be the best site for the prisoners -- comes an attempt to move homeless services away from downtown -- even though that might be the best location for the homeless.
   Who are we trying to serve? Yes, it is true Point of the Mountain would be a windfall to commercial real estate agents, and a profitable location for the companies that would locate there. And, yes, it is difficult to argue downtown businesses might be better served, financially, if the homeless were not there to blight the image of the area.
   But, what of the prisoners, and what of the poor? If we were to locate the prison solely based on what is the best site providing resources for rehabilitation, might we not stay at Point of the Mountain? And, likewise, the downtown area has many advantages for the homeless.
   Perhaps these dilemmas are a test of our values. Do we value rehabilitating the prisoner enough that we look for the very best site available, and not give it up when real estate concerns come calling, saying it is they, and not the prisoner, we should be concerned about? Do we care for our poor so much that we look to locate them wherever will serve them best, and not surrender that location even though businesses plea for us to prioritize them ahead of the poor?
   It is said, home is where the heart is. Well, in dealing with the prisoners and the poor, the heart is where the home is. We will perhaps know where our heart is by where we place their homes.
   In closing, while I am not saying it is right or is wrong to say what I have just said, it is perhaps good to reflect on whether it is. Am I being too judgemental, too accusative? There perhaps are many who would both move the prison and move services for the homeless whose hearts are, in fact, with them, despite not agreeing that this is the time and instance that something should be done for them.