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Juneteenth, an annual holiday in many states commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated by African Americans since the late 1800s. But this year, following nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice, there is renewed and widespread interest in this day that celebrates freedom.
It’s important to be ready when disaster strikes. Whether it’s a flood, wildfire or other emergency common to Oregon, these events disproportionately affect older adults, many of whom have mobility, chronic disease or disability challenges that require them to seek extra assistance to get to safety.
Most of the people displaced by the Almeda Drive wildfire were low-income older residents who lived in one of a dozen mobile-home parks along the Oregon 99/I-5 corridor. Efforts to help them have been hampered by a tight job market, limited housing and the restrictions of the pandemic.
For the past year, older adults in Oregon read the Oregon Health Authority Covid reports daily including death counts that disproportionately impacted people 50-plus. And as the vaccine became available, the tension increased because of a rocky rollout and not enough vaccine for those who desperately wanted – and needed it. In our state, 91% of the deaths were from people 50 and older.