Julie dermansky photo police11/9/2022 He adds, “We’re not going to respond as if we’re saving a life. That is something that’s very sacred, very ritualistic.” “They’re the only person to respond because they’re the only person who does what a last responder does: cater to, care for, and treat and dispose of dead human remains. “A last responder isn’t the person just responding last because they’re slow,” Baloney says. It’s a job Baloney believes is essential. He refers to them as the “last responders”: They are the last people to deal with the dead before their final send off. While first responders are considered essential workers in Louisiana, Baloney argues it was a mistake to leave funeral home directors out of that designation. While this reflects a national trend in which people of color have been disproportionately devastated by the coronavirus, these two small communities, with roughly 60,000 residents combined, so far have seen more than 2,250 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 130 deaths, according to the Louisiana Department of Health.īaloney has seen this crisis up close. John the Baptist Parish as a having an alarming death rate the death rate in nearby St. John Bel Edwards identified the Black communities in St. The health of people living in Cancer Alley, who are predominately Black, has been negatively impacted for years by the exposure to high levels of toxic fumes-and now, in the middle of a pandemic, things are even worse. The river parishes served by Baloney’s Treasures of Life funeral home have been identified as coronavirus hotspots, and some scientists are now researching how industrial pollution could be making locals more vulnerable to the virus. The health of people living near the fence line of industrial facilities in Cancer Alley, who are predominately Black, has been negatively impacted for years by the exposure to high levels of toxic fumes-and now, in the middle of a pandemic, things are even worse. It’s also not far from the more than 100 petrochemical facilities that line a stretch of the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, an area known to industry types as the “Petrochemical Corridor” and to locals as “Cancer Alley.” Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.Ĭourtney Baloney’s funeral home sits in St. The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date.
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