Oklahoma Watch (https://oklahomawatch.org/category/videos/)
The resurgence of measles and spread of drug-resistant germs were the focus of this Oklahoma Watch-Out public forum. Among other things, the discussion covered the controversies surrounding vaccines and hospital efforts to control contagious diseases.
More than 650,000 Oklahomans, a third of them children, lack reliable access to sufficient food. Food pantries play a vital role in providing resources to food-insecure families.
Last year, 266 immigrants were deported from the Tulsa County Jail. In many cases, their families were left behind, dealing with the financial and emotional fallout.
Guthrie resident Kim Watson overcomes the physical and emotional challenges of parenting with a disability.
For Oklahomans who fall on hard times, the consequence is often eviction. They fail to pay rent on their houses or apartments, are forced out and find themselves in a cyclical housing crisis.
Felicia Jones is one of many Tulsa-area residents who depend on local bus service but struggle to make the system work efficiently for them.
Thousands of Oklahomans suffer from depression, sometimes to a debilitating degree. The problem is especially common and invisible among aging residents. Victor Guillermo, of Oklahoma City, an Air Force veteran, has struggled daily with depression since his wife died.
Months after his 18th birthday, Joshua Hoaks uses his experience in foster care to face the future. He represents the many young people in Oklahoma whose families tumbled into crisis and lost custody of their children, not to regain them before they reached 18 and aged out of the foster system.
Oklahoma’s high rate of drug addiction has taken a heavy toll on families, including grandparents and great grandparents. In Dedra Ray’s case, her granddaughter’s drug addiction left Ray to spend retirement raising her great granddaughter.
Fewer people in Oklahoma City are homeless, according to the latest counts. But more are unsheltered at night, even in the dead of winter. So Oklahoma Watch asked those on the streets, “Where do you sleep?”
Every month, hundreds of inmates who’ve served their time are released from prisons across Oklahoma. But rebuilding a life is challenging. Robin Wertz, who spent years in prison, talks about her experiences and how, as site director at Exodus House, she helps former inmates re-integrate into society. This video launches our series titled “The Invisibles.”
