Our biggest priority right now is identifying sites that will serve to triage thousands of wounded when the Cascadia quake slips. They will need to be airlifted to Washington, California and Nevada — states with better track records for emergency preparedness.

Next step is setting up 200 families in Conestoga huts. We start with centers located on bus routes where parents can have breakfast with their kids in the school cafeteria then go to four hours of entry level work: parks maintenance, child care, construction, food service, health care aids, retail.

Afternoons will be spent in peer-led rap groups where people will share strategies for budgeting, enforcing family boundaries, healthy eating and exercising, financing education, and making the most of free and low-cost activities in our community, as well as more traditional jobs training.

Simple baby steps to provide the greatest good to the greatest number will transform this town.

Or we can continue to fritter away money on postponing the Ems decision, the Leech/Walker runoff,  and compiling resources for the homeless, but never offering affordable mental health services.

Joi Cardinal
Eugene