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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2023)
October 18, 2023 Page 9 Jeans for Teens! Drug Store Dealing with Lawsuits and Losses Rite Aid, a major U.S. pharmacy chain, said Sunday, Oct. 15, that it has filed for bankruptcy as part of its effort to restructure its finances. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File) Rite Aid seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Cameron Davis, a 17-year-old high school senior, started ‘Jeans for Teens.’ Helping the Homeless Community Cameron Davis is a 17-year-old high school senior. She is an honor student at Brentwood School and has committed her time to helping the unhoused community in the city. “I’ve been volunteering to help feed the unhoused community since I was very young,” Cameron tells us. “When I was 9 years old, I was crowned Little Miss Cali- fornia and I chose poverty alleviation as my community service platform. Los Angeles has one of the largest homeless populations in the United States and it is impossible to ignore this humanitarian crisis.” Cameron first started volunteering with My Friends Place serving food on Skid Row. Throughout the years as well as during the pandemic she has also created meals and hygiene kits for the Hollywood Food Coalition and Midnight Mission. All her many hours of dedication and volun- teer work have earned her the Gold Pres- ident’s Volunteer Service Award. Growing up in a single-parent household she learned to cook and enjoys sharing her meals with those in need. Her favorite recipes are of- ten the ones she finds on TikTok. During her time working with different organizations, she discovered that there were other ways that she could give back. Jeans were often listed as an item that was in need since they are durable, unisex, and can be worn in all seasons. “Every fall my friends have the privilege to go Back to School shopping with their parents for brand new clothes. I wanted to help teen- agers experiencing homelessness feel less stigmatized at school.” Her nonprofit Jeans for Teens collects new and lightly used denim jeans for homeless youth in the Los Angeles area. She has collected hundreds of pairs of jeans since starting Jeans for Teens three years ago and she gets more donations ev- ery year.“Now that I have my driver’s li- cense, I can get to more community fridg- es,” he comments. Cameron also donates bottled water and Gatorade to the various community fridges around town. Commu- nity fridges are refrigerators, run by a small business or neighborhood. Volunteers work to keep them stocked with snacks, drinks, and individually packaged fruits and veg- etables. And it’s all free for anyone in the community to enjoy. “This helps tremendously during ex- treme heat waves and helps keep unhoused individuals hydrated and prevents them from getting heat stroke.” “Some people cast judgment and view the homeless as lazy or as a nuisance. But it’s extremely important for people to understand that homelessness is a complex issue with mul- tiple causes including mental health, lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, do- mestic violence, and more.” Cameron says, “I know that I alone am unable to solve this issue. But I believe that housing is a human right and if each of us does one small thing we can, at the very least make a difference in a person’s mindset and give them the faith to carry on until they ultimately find a place, they can call home.” AP- Rite Aid has filed for bankrupt- cy protection and plans to sell part of its business as it attempts to restructure while dealing with losses and opioid-re- lated lawsuits. The company said Rite Aid stores will continue to fill prescrip- tions, and customers will still be able to visit its locations or shop online while it goes through its voluntary Chapter 11 process. But that process also will allow it to speed up its plan to close underper- forming stores. Going through Chapter 11 will help “significantly reduce the company’s debt” while helping to “resolve litiga- tion claims in an equitable manner,” Rite Aid late Sunday. Rite Aid Corp. said in its federal bankruptcy filing that it runs more than 2,000 stores. Most of its lo- cations are on the East and West Coasts. The company, like its rivals, also faces financial risk from lawsuits over opi- oid prescriptions. Rite Aid already has reached several settlements, including one announced last year with the state of West Virginia for up to $30 million. In March, the U.S. Justice Department intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by former employees under the False Claims Act. Federal officials said in a statement that the drugstore chain filled “at least hundreds of thousands” of illegal prescriptions for drugs including opioids. Rite Aid called the government’s claims “hyperbolic” in a subsequent mo- tion to dismiss. The company said facts alleged in the case actually showed it exceeded regulatory requirements for di- version control. Drugstores also have been dealing with several issues that frustrate custom- ers. They’ve handled prescription drug shortages, and they have struggled to fill their stores with enough pharmacists and technicians to run the pharmacies. Rivals CVS and Walgreens both have dealt with walkouts by pharmacy employees con- cerned about their growing workloads and lack of help. The stores also have had to weather tight prescription reimburse- ment and waning COVID-19 vaccine and testing business in recent quarters. Plus online competitors like the retail gi- ant Amazon have hurt sales sales of con- sumer goods found outside the pharmacy areas of their stores. Rite Aid’s larger competitors like CVS and Walgreens, which each run several thousand more locations, have moved more aggressively into health care, opening clinics and add- ing other sources of revenue. Rite Aid said Sunday that it had reached an agreement with some key creditors on a financial restructuring plan to cut its debt. The company also said it obtained $3.45 billion in fresh financing from some of its lenders, which will help support the company through the Chap- ter 11 process. Rite Aid says it does not know yet which stores it will close, but it will transfer workers to other Rite Aid locations where possible. Congrats Ronald D. Herndon Longtime Activist and Early Childhood Leader Receives Alexander Award Ron Herndon served as President and Board Chair of the National Head Start Association (NHSA) from 1991 to 2013, and provided leadership and sup- port to Head Start programs across the nation including advocating for over 900,000 low-income and families.
