Editor,

I recently moved back to Whidbey Island after a number of years away.

While I was away, I joined the world of social service work and became very familiar with the services and unique struggles that face all communities in this country.

Upon moving back, I joined the social work community of Island County and have been extremely impressed with what I have been learning has happened here since I saw away.

While I see and understand that many of life’s issues have caused a more visible and numerous population of people and families without adequate resources here, I also know that there are two ways that a community can choose to react to this: anger and hate or understanding that such things are a symptoms of an unmet need on a larger scale.

Through my experience with such dedicated agencies as Spin Café, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, The Haven, Medical SafetyNet, Ryan’s House, Island Senior Resources, Readiness to Learn, the Lions’ clubs, Holiday House Teams, Garage of Blessing, CADA, The Mobile Turkey Unit and North Whidbey Community Harvest, just to name a few, I have seen that our community and its individual members are standing up to do what is needed.

This attitude and support structure makes me feel much more hopeful than I’ve ever been before that life can be an enjoyable experience for all, at least most of time.

In short, I want to say thank you for being this type of community, one that I can be proud of and inspired to live and work within.

Cathleen Kantorovich

Oak Harbor