In the wake of the tens of thousands of survivors displaced by Hurricane Katrina, Creston Mayor Mike Tamerius is calling on the Creston community to think small. As in one family. Mayor Tamerius says last week several people came up to him to say they wanted to do something to help, so this is kind of a group effort to see how they can do their part. Instead of everyone doing something different, he suggested they all take on the same project — or rather, the same displaced family. Instead of everyone “going in different directions” with ideas to help, he says, they could all pull together and help just one family. There have been proposals to bring in two families, three, or even busloads of people but instead he decided to try focusing on helping one family, and have everyone help them try to get their lives back together. While they might be able to help a lot of people for a short time, he says helping one family could be a long-term project for the community. It’ll make a big impact on the refugees’ lives, bringing them all the way from Louisiana to the town of Creston. That’ll be quite an adjustment, so he says it felt right to make a commitment for at least a year — to help the displaced family get their feet back under them and their lives in order. For the local helpers, it’ll mean a lot of planning and cooperation. Local civic groups will be asked for their commitments, and anyone in town is welcome to join in the effort. If there’s enough support in the community, the mayor says, “I guess we can bring more.” WMayor Tamerius has heard the reports that the first wave headed to Iowa will have a thousand refugees arriving in Des Moines. “We’re going to need to pull this together pretty quickly,” he notes. He’s already had people working over the weekend to look for housing and options for a refugee family, and says it’ll have to be done as a community effort. “The caring and giving of Creston is really amazing,” Tamerius says. The effort is being called “All for One: One Family – One Community – One Year.”
