May 30, 2018 The Skanner Page 3
News
“
information, including
how some people died.
Previous studies have
found that the number
of direct and indirect
hurricane-related deaths
in Puerto Rico is high-
er than the official toll,
including a 2017 report
that there were nearly
500 more deaths than
usual on the island in
September.
Indirect deaths resulting
from worsening conditions
or from delayed medical
treatments may not be cap-
tured on death certificates
a “substantial underesti-
mate.”
Maria caused the lon-
gest blackout in U.S. his-
tory, leaving the entire is-
land of 3.3 million people
without power, includ-
ing those in hospitals
and nursing homes who
relied on respirators.
Researchers
surveyed
3,299 households earlier
this year and used the
findings to extrapolate
to the whole island. They
found that 31 percent
reported disruptions in
medical services, and
more than 14 percent
said they were unable to
access medications.
“Indirect deaths result-
ing from worsening of
chronic conditions or
from delayed medical
treatments may not be
captured on death certif-
icates,” researchers said
in the study.
They calculated 4,645
more people died in the
three months after Ma-
ria compared with the
same period in 2016. One
of the researchers, Rafael
Irizarry of Harvard Uni-
versity, told the AP that
the estimate is uncertain
because of its limited
size, but that the study
still provides valuable
PreSERVE
In late February, Puer-
to Rico’s governor an-
nounced that a team of
experts at George Wash-
ington University would
lead an independent
review to determine
the number of deaths
caused by Hurricane
Maria amid ongoing ac-
cusations that the gov-
ernment undercounted
the toll. A preliminary
report was due in May,
but Puerto Rico officials
announced last week
that the team requested
and was granted more
time. The director of
that study did not return
messages for comment.
The government of
Puerto Rico issued a
statement Tuesday in
response to the study
saying that it welcomed
the research and would
analyze it.
“As the world knows,
the magnitude of this
tragic disaster caused
by Hurricane Maria re-
sulted in many fatalities.
We have always expected
the number to be higher
than what was previous-
ly reported,” said Carlos
Mercader, executive di-
rector of Puerto Rico’s
Federal Affairs Adminis-
tration.
PPB Sunshine
Division to
Distribute
Summer Food
Boxes to Families
On May 31, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Portland Police
Bureau Sunshine Division, Safeway, and Advantis
Credit Union volunteers will pack 1,000 food boxes at
Sunshine Division’s 687 N. Thompson Street warehouse
as part of their summer food box program. In its
sixth year, the summer food box program provides a
week’s worth of child-friendly breakfast, lunch, and
snack items to bridge the gap between summer meal
programs and free and reduced breakfast and lunch
programs provided during the school year.
The program is generously funded through a granted
awarded by “Hunger Is”, a joint charitable program of the
Safeway Foundation and the Entertainment Industry
Foundation (EIF), designed to build awareness and
raise funds in an effort to eradicate childhood hunger
in America. The $178,000 grant will fund approximately
30,000 pounds of food for the summer food boxes
and, as part of a larger programmatic summer food
insecurity initiative, provide healthy breakfast options
at the Sunshine Division’s two pantries throughout the
summer months.
Good
cont’d from pg 1
of the nonprofit that organizes
the Good in the Hood festival ev-
ery year.
“Our theme is families and com-
munities together,” Penney told
The Skanner.
Hugh Hewett, known for being
part of the R & B and soul group
Shalomar and who enjoyed some
solo hits in the 1990s, will head-
line the event, whose musical
offerings run the gamut from
hip-hop to jazz, neo-soul and Lat-
in music. The event will also in-
clude health screenings and the
distribution of scholarships, and
the Portland Farmers Market
will also have farmer’s market
booths on Northeast 7th between
Alberta and Prescott. Penney said
organizers were able to disburse
about $8,000 worth of scholar-
ships to youth in the community
last year.
This year’s parade will take
place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with a
slightly different route than pre-
vious years: it will start at Legacy
Emmanuel Medical Center and
end at King Elementary School.
In the weeks leading up to last
year’s Good in the Hood festival,
organizers received a threat-
ening letter promising a “blood
bath” and referring to Penney
with racial epithets. Penney said
“
“With the threat last year, hon-
estly, it terrified me, and I bless
that we haven’t gotten any threats
this year. But the Portland police
said, ‘Just because you’ve not got-
ten any threats this year, we’re
not going to let up. We’re going to
keep it tight,’”
Penney said.
“It seems like,
to me, any-
body that has
a voice, that’s
outspoken, that’s a community
activist, anyone that’s fighting for
the positive all the time, that’s an
advocate for minorities – there’s
always somebody out there that
wants to shut them up. But I don’t
want to shut up. I’m going to con-
tinue to fight and continue to
fight for the people that need to
be fought for.”
Penney said this year’s festival
will continue with a heightened
security presence, though orga-
nizers have not received threats.
Just because you’ve not got-
ten any threats this year,
we’re not going to let up.
he was scared and considered
cancelling the event, but was ul-
timately undeterred – and the
festival went forward without in-
cident, though with an increased
security presence.
The Portland Police Bureau
and the Federal Bureau of Inves-
tigation investigated the threat
and provided increased security
detail in concert with the event’s
private security. According to
police bureau spokesperson Sgt.
Chris Burley, that threat “was
mitigated prior to or at the start
of the event.”
Read more at TheSkanner.com
cont’d from pg 1
ter. While at OHSU, she recognized
the lack of African American partici-
pates in the program and decided to go
straight to the source.
After meeting with several members
of the Black community, along with
health professionals and nonprofits,
Boise organized a series of conferences
called “Aging and Memory in the Af-
rican American Community,” from
which PreSERVE blossomed.
“There has been a lot of discussion,
for example by the Alzheimer’s As-
sociation and other researchers, that
suggest that African Americans have
a high prevalence of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease,” said Boise.
Although not biological researcher
herself, Boise said she doesn’t neces-
sarily believe the prevalence statistic.
Rather, she thinks there might be a
higher incidence of cognitive impair-
ment and dementia – not exactly Alz-
heimer’s – in African Americans.
What Boise finds particularly inter-
esting is the link between the Black
population and vascular dementia,
which can be caused by high blood
pressure and excessive gain weight.
“
Seniors who par-
ticipate in the arts
have less falls
According to the American Heart
Association, 59 percent of all African
American men and 56 percent of Afri-
can American women are classified as
having high blood pressure.
So for PreSERVE, it was import-
ant that the “Art and Soul Food” pro-
gram promote both healthy living and
healthy brains.
Traditionally, soul food is character-
istic of being high in fat, calories, and
sodium. And with that, health profes-
sionals have seen a rise in diabetes and
kidney disease in the African Ameri-
can community.
What the “Art and Soul Food” pro-
gram did was help participants put a
healthy twist on the recipes, so that
the cultural identity of the food was re-
tained, while being modernized into a
health-conscious meal.
The act of creating art, too, has been
shown to improve physical and mental
well-being.
“Seniors who participate in the arts
have less falls, they take few medica-
tions, and they have lower blood pres-
sure,” said Henderson, whose Geezer
Gallery supports elderly artists and
offers therapeutic arts programs to
low-income seniors.
“But it’s not only about doing art and
being creative,” continued Henderson.
“It’s also about bringing people togeth-
er who are largely isolated, which has
a significant impact on their health. It
lowers depression and anxiety and im-
proves quality of life.”
Read the full story at TheSkanner.com
COURTESY OF PRESERVE
in the New England Jour-
nal of Medicine. It’s the
latest study to analyze
how many people died
during or after the Cate-
gory 4 storm that hit the
U.S. territory in Septem-
ber 2017, causing more
than an estimated $100
billion in damage. Re-
searchers led by Harvard
University called the
official toll of 64 deaths
cont’d from pg 1
PHOTO COURTESY OF PORTLAND POLICE BUREAU
Puerto Rico
Participant of the “Art and Soul Food” program,
sponsored by the PreSERVE Coalition and offered
by the Geezer Gallery. All artwork will be on display
at the June Key Delta Center on June 9, 2018.