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Friends and Neighbors,
The challenges the last eight months have brought our way have been hard. We’ve seen the health and economic impacts of an unprecedented global pandemic, the overwhelming calls for racial justice, and a catastrophic wildfire season. In response, a record number of Oregonians cast their votes in this year’s election--something we should all feel good about. I’m full of gratitude that the people of HD 37 have entrusted me to represent them for another two years. Our community has faced unprecedented challenges over the past year. The curtain has been pulled back to reveal in full the many disparities in our systems. I am committed to addressing these disparities - from inequities in healthcare access and education, to the climate crisis.
In addition to representing our community’s values and priorities in the State House, one of the best parts of being a state representative is the opportunity to use my voice for the voiceless. We must never look away from evidence or turn away from extending compassion for every person in our communities. We must go forward working together.
In this newsletter, I share some resources available to veterans, new coronavirus restrictions that begin today, recent Emergency Board allocation, and information on updated school metrics.
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Veterans Day
Today, On Veterans Day, we pause to recognize our military veterans, past and present. I'm thinking about my many family members who have served in the armed forces during crucial moments in our history as well as the many veterans and military service members who have given so much to keep our state and country safe. I'm also thinking about the many military members I am honored to serve with in the state capitol and their call to join them in the pursuit of a more perfect union.
To celebrate, even though we can’t be together in person, the State of Oregon will host a Virtual Statewide Veterans Day Celebration. You can find more information here.
ODVA also honors Oregon women military veterans through the “I Am Not Invisible” exhibit. There are more than 28,000 women veterans in Oregon — a number that has risen steadily over the past three decades — representing almost one-tenth of Oregon’s veteran population. The exhibit is available online here.
During COVID, Veterans are also facing the added challenge of COVID-19. There are a number of benefits available and the Oregon Department of Veteran’s Affairs has put them all in one place. The COVID-19 resource navigator can help veterans find economic, education, housing, health, and other resources for which their military service entitles them. Find them: here
And here is a quick resources available to veterans and military service members:
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(Oregon) Military Help Line: Call 888-457-4838
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VA Crisis Line 1-800-273-8255, press 1.
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VA Confidential crisis chat at net or text to 838255
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U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for PTSD: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/
ODVA is also partnering with AARP for a virtual town hall from 2:00 to 3:00 PM on November 12. ODVA representatives will be on-hand to discuss and answer questions about benefits and programs available to help veterans. To register for the event or for more information, contact Carmel Snyder at 541-525-8123 or email [email protected].
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Two-Week Pause
Governor Kate Brown announced the addition of counties including the two counties that make up HD 37 (Clackamas & Washington) to the Two-Week Pause on social activities to help stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 where community transmission is on the rise.
Coronavirus cases are surging in Oregon right now, as they are across the country. In the Metro area, new hospitalizations mean that intensive care units are at a sobering 90% of full capacity. To curb these trends, the Governor has announced a set of measures that will go into effect this week. Currently Nine counties–Baker, Clackamas, Malheur, Jackson, Umatilla, Union, Washington, Marion and Multnomah–will enter a two week pause starting today, Wednesday, November 11.
With informal gatherings driving the spread of the virus, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recommends Oregonians limit social interaction to their own household as much as possible. Furthermore, OHA asks that we keep Thanksgiving gatherings virtual so that we can protect ourselves, our families, and our communities.
Oregon has stopped similar surges in COVID-19 infection rates twice now – in March with Stay Home, Save Lives, and later in the spring when face covering requirements were announced. We can and we must do it again. The Two-Week Pause is being instituted in counties with a case rate above 200 per 100,000 people over a two-week period, or more than 60 cases over a two-week period for counties with fewer than 30,000 people.
Here are the temporary measures that go into effect:
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Urging all businesses to mandate work from home to the greatest extent possible.
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Pausing long-term care facility visits that take place indoors to protect staff and residents.
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Reducing maximum restaurant capacity to 50 people (including customers and staff) for indoor dining, with a maximum party size of six. Continuing to encourage outdoor dining and take out.
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Reducing the maximum capacity of other indoor activities to 50 people (includes gyms, fitness organizations/studios, bowling alleys, ice rinks, indoor sports, pools, and museums).
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Limiting social gatherings to your household, or no more than six people if the gathering includes those from outside your household, reducing the frequency of those social gatherings (significantly in a two-week period), and keeping the same six people in your social gathering circle.
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PLEASE Don't Give Up
As a nurse practitioner, I am incredibly proud of Oregonians. At great sacrifice, we have taken this crisis seriously and have saved lives. As a State Representative, I am acutely aware that it will be a challenge to fight our way back and I am up for the task. My thoughts are with the healthcare workers caring for our communities and the families of loved ones who have become sick or died. We know through contact tracing that COVID-19 is spreading in Oregon at high rates due to in-person, indoor social gatherings. Hearing from my community I also know the burden of this pandemic has been placed on so many: business owners and employees, teachers, students, parents, and our frontline healthcare workers.
Please wear your masks to stop the spiking trends. And please avoid indoor social gatherings. We must stop this virus from spreading, preserve our hospital capacity, and save lives. We cannot allow this disease to continue to spread so rapidly and risk closing down again. Oregonians have made tremendous sacrifices to help each other throughout this pandemic, which is why Oregon has done relatively better than many other states at containing COVID. This is hard, but PLEASE don’t give up.
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Emergency Board
This week the legislative Emergency Board approved requests for more than $128 million to help Oregonians impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This includes help for Oregonians in need of shelter, childcare providers, small businesses, long-term care providers, and victims of domestic and sexual violence.
The first item approved was $35 million in state funds to support the Project Turnkey Statewide Pandemic and Homelessness Response. The Oregon Community Foundation will use the funding to support the acquisition, retrofitting and potential operation of hotel and motel properties to be used as emergency shelter. This funding is in addition to $30 million the Emergency Board approved on October 23 to begin Project Turnkey in wildfire-affected areas.
This action comes at a critical time as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in Oregon. As winter approaches, it’s particularly important we help people without permanent housing. We’ve been facing a statewide shelter emergency for some time and the pandemic has made the situation even more dire. We have a lot of work ahead of us to solve this emergency but it's an important step.
The Emergency Board also approved the following allocations from the state’s share of federal funds available through the Coronavirus Relief Fund:
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School Reopening: New Metrics
Governor Brown, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recently changed the metrics that guide school districts’ reopening decisions. Oregon’s new approach allows for more students to return to in-person instruction with health and safety measures in place, but still sets strong requirements for low case counts to open schools.
The four new metric updates are as follows:
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Adjusts measurement period--County metrics will now be measured for one, 2-week period instead of three, 1-week periods.
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Removes statewide positivity metric--County positivity rates, not statewide rates, will now be used to determine whether or not schools can reopen.
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Exemption for elementary schools now extends to K-6--Under previous metrics, only K-3 students were allowed to return to school first, meaning that elementary schools were able to open in some districts but students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade could not go back to the classroom. Now, OHA and ODE have determined that students in grades K-6 can return to school if strict protocols are followed.
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Final decisions are left to local officials--ODE and OHA will advise and confirm with school districts when their county has satisfied the metrics required to return to in-person learning, but final decisions about returning to the classroom will be left to school districts and local health authorities.
ODE has released an update to their Ready Schools, Safe Learners guidance, which includes more information about the metrics required to return to in-person learning, and details about the health and safety protocols that schools must have in place before students return. You can find that here.
You can view county progress towards meeting the metrics on ODE’s metrics dashboard.
WLWV Reopening Schools Plan: https://www.wlwv.k12.or.us/domain/3631
TTSD Reopening School Plans: https://www.ttsdschools.org/
Childcare Resources for TTSD families: https://www.ttsdschools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=9924
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