A few things came to mind as I was reading this opinion piece: One of the best decisions I ever made was volunteering as a mentor 7 years ago for at-risk youth and women transitioning from prison. I dragged my heels prior to that and owe thanks to Obama and the late T. Kennedy for the inspiration to get going already and sign up. In my college classrooms, Mr. Rogers was often mentioned as a good model for children learning language considering how he spoke. A quote from Horace Mann, "doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves."
However,  I pull back when it comes to those who have affected my psyche, my safety, and my number of visits to downtown.  I lived in several major cities, but it was Eugene, OR  that made me aware of "travelers".   I'm not proud of my lack of kindness towards them, but we all have our limits.