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Mount Vernon worker honored for saving life

Shannon Blake works for the city of Mount Vernon as a nutrition aide.

Jade Nash

Jul 7, 2025, 10:07 PM

Updated 21 days ago

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A city worker in Mount Vernon is being hailed as a hero after trusting her instincts - and helping save a life.
Shannon Blake works for the city of Mount Vernon as a nutrition aide.
"I deliver meals to senior citizens that aren't able to come out their house," Blake says.
Last month, during a routine shift, Blake says something just didn't feel right with one of her regulars.
"I noticed the meal that I brought the day before [was] still on the door, so that's what made me feel like something was wrong," Blake says.
Blake was right because something was wrong.
After she asked her supervisor for a wellness check, it was discovered that the senior resident was inside her apartment with a low oxygen tank.
"She was somewhat unconscious, which is why she didn't answer," Blake says.
The senior is now getting treatment and city leaders like Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard are calling Blake a "hero."
"Oh, I am extremely proud of Shannon. Shannon has always been one to go above and beyond," Patterson-Howard says.
Blake's lifesaving actions were honored at City Hall on Monday - and she went right back to the job afterward.