Oregon Latinx Leadership Network launches #Por mi Familia, a statewide COVID-19 public awareness campaign for Latinx communities.

November 11, 2020 (WOODBURN, Ore.) The Oregon Latinx Leadership Network (OLLN) has launched a statewide public awareness campaign to encourage and remind Oregon's most vulnerable Latinx and Mesoamerican populations to protect themselves and their loved ones from the coronavirus. The multilingual campaign is timely, with the unprecedented rise in new cases of COVID-19 in Oregon. Using the tagline, "#Por Mi Familia" the campaign was created to encourage and remind people of the importance of protecting themselves and their loved ones to slow the virus's spread.

Marcela Alcantar, founder and president of Ta Yeiyari Te Pa' Ye Xeiyari, said she is grateful to OLLN for choosing a public awareness campaign to disseminate COVID-19 prevention and safety messages to Latinx communities in Oregon. "I thank the Oregon Health Authority for resources to allow OLLN to create these messages in Spanish and the indigenous Mesoamerican languages."

Anthony Veliz, OLLN founder, says getting translated and timely health information to Latinx and indigenous communities in Oregon is challenging. "We're using this campaign to reach people who live and work in rural and urban communities of Oregon," said Veliz. "We need to encourage them or remind them to practice preventive actions like wearing a mask, washing hands, and social distancing daily to protect themselves, their families, and friends. Many are the essential workers who cannot shelter in place or work from home and are at risk of contracting the virus and spreading it to others."

The campaign will launch on several platforms, including billboards in the Portland metro area, Salem, Eugene, Medford, Redmond, Madras, and along the coast. Veliz said many Latinx rely on radio and digital even more to stay connected while social distancing during the pandemic. They will place multilingual ads on various digital platforms, including radio stations throughout Oregon.

About 13 percent of Oregon's population identifies as Latino or Hispanic. The majority are of Mexican descent and others come from Central and South American (Source: Oregon Community Foundation, 2016 Latinos in Oregon).

The Oregon Latinx Leadership Network exists to build and strengthen community and resilience among our Latinx community, to organize and advocate around a strategic budget and policy agenda, and to partner with leaders and public officials to advance change to enhance the wellbeing of all Oregonians.