Success at a Glance

Mariana Gonzales is a community health worker (CHW) and public health professional working with the Southeast Arizona Health Education Center’s (SEAHEC) Vacunas para Todos ("Vaccines for all") project. Gonzales spends several afternoons each week at the Casa Alitas shelter in Tucson, Arizona, to provide COVID-19 education and additional support to newly arrived migrant families, connecting them with services and care. For instance, in late 2021, Gonzales provided information and support to a...

The New Age Services Corporation (NASC) achieved an increase in COVID-19 vaccinations in their Chicago area communities by leveraging partnerships near and far. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter nearly 700 miles away in Atlanta helped connect organizations for a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Chicago’s West Side in March of 2022. Even City of East Point, Georgia Councilmember, Karen Rene got involved and introduced NASC to the NAACP chapter on the...

Student community health workers (CHWs) powered the work of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) last summer by partnering with local organizations to host a health event at their local park in New Britain, Connecticut. The YWCA Youth Community Health Workers provided a mobile vaccination station, complete with services to help with housing insecurity, domestic violence, and drug abuse. Fourteen individuals were vaccinated during the event, and 250 back-to-school supply kits and gift...

At Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency (WMCAA), the work revolves around connecting community members to resources that support their physical, mental, and financial health. For example, WMCAA holds a recurring event at the Inkster Housing Commission at which their staff provides accurate information about COVID-19 to residents. Also, at the local Saunders Memorial A.M.E. Church, the WMCAA mobile health unit distributed informational fliers to help community members navigate questions or...

 Barn quilts are bright, familiar sights in rural parts of the United States, and the Vermillion Cultural Association (VCA) recently took barn quilt-making to new heights in a traveling health education effort. Barn Quilt Project: South Dakota Strong in collaboration with Creative Care LLC drew on the cultural history of quilt-making among both indigenous and European settler communities. “The Barn Quilt Project connected familiar quilt traditions with stories of resilience throughout the COVID...

If there’s one way to get a child’s attention, it’s probably superheroes...and a dinosaur! At least that was the approach United Way of Coastal Fairfield County, Connecticut, took to make vaccine clinics more inviting for children. Adult staff dressed in superhero costumes, and the chief executive officer greeted children in an inflatable Tyrannosaurus Rex costume to help spread the word about vaccinations. During the Omicron surge, one clinic provided over 200 vaccinations.

By integrating essential social services with their COVID-19 outreach, the Leadership Council for Healthy Communities (LCHC) Vaccine Equity and Inclusion Initiative Team saw abundant success in their Washington, DC community. Through partnerships with the Virtual Health Ministry and Choose Health Life program, residents were referred to vaccination and testing opportunities along with mental health, substance abuse, domestic violence, and other services. The team also identified and trained...

From a community survey, the Eastside Community Network (ECN) learned that many people felt their community lacked quality providers. So ECN sprang into action, and hosted its first health fair in Detroit in November 2021, aiming to connect community members with healthcare insurance companies that offer access to credentialed providers in the community.

The Corner Health Center offers health care and supportive services for young people transitioning to adulthood in Ypsilanti, Michigan. During a Juneteenth celebration, the Center hosted a talk by a well-known pediatrician who spoke about health in communities of color, persuading skeptical friends, families, and young people to be vaccinated. One mother attending the talk appreciated the presentation, but shared with staff that she felt defeated in trying to convince her hesitant family to be...