As part of the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) COVID-19 response, in October 2021 the Community Partner Outreach Program (CPOP) purchased 3,000 air purifiers for distribution to farm and food processing worker communities around the state. This project was a culmination of nearly two years of working together with POF community partners to distribute various forms of personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, hand sanitizers, thermometers, face shields, water canteens, and much more, to workers and their families.
To complete the project, CPOP leveraged its relationships with multiple partners including the 21 POF grantees throughout the state, the Oregon Employment Department (OED) State Monitor Advocate, Fernando Gutierrez, the Oregon Human Development Corporation (OHDC), and the Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC), who were all instrumental in delivering the purifiers directly to the workers for free.
This is the first and only project of its kind by any state agency during the pandemic and has served to help protect workers and their families who often live in multifamily, multigenerational, crowded conditions. This project is also a testament to the collaborative spirit and true willingness of CPOP and its community partners to help those Oregonians who have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
