MINOT, N.D. (AP) - The death toll from COVID-19 in North Dakota is personal for Carl Young of Bismarck, who lost his mother to the virus in October. To remind people of the seriousness of the pandemic, Young has created a memorial to its victims that he brought to Minot earlier this month.
The North Dakota Department of Health reports 1,013 North Dakotans had lost their lives as of Dec. 5 to COVID-19. The memorial display of N.D. state flags that will remain in Roosevelt Park through this week provides a visual image of that loss. Each of the more than 250 flags represents four people who have died.
The importance of the memorial is in creating awareness, Young said.
Young’s mother, Catherine Jose, 70, who had been a resident of a Bottineau nursing home for about a month, died Oct. 4 from COVID-related complications, the Minot Daily News reported.
“It was hard on my brother and sister and I because we couldn’t be there for her in her final days,” Young said.
Young said the memorial’s message is twofold.
“We want to remember those that passed because my mom’s service was 15 minutes outside, and that’s not how we do funerals in North Dakota. And then I am an advocate for mental health - have been for over 10 years. I want to draw attention to the mental health needs of all of the frontline health care,” he said. It’s not just healthcare workers who are facing mental health challenges, he added, but the issue affects all frontline workers, from ambulance drivers to funeral home directors, as well as families who have lost loved ones.
Young worked as a teacher and nonprofit technology consultant before becoming disabled several years ago. He had lived in Garrison about 10 years before returning to Burleigh County, where he grew up. He and his wife also have created a nonprofit to help families of children exposed to substance abuse.
The COVID-19 memorial is privately funded through donations. Flags will be added to the memorial in Minot as necessary should more deaths be recorded this week.
The memorial previously has been displayed in Bismarck and Fargo. Young said the flags will be displayed next at the State Capitol from the start of the legislative session in January until bill crossover on Feb. 26. Plans are to take the memorial on tour to county fairs next year.
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