Community-led Response to Equitable Vaccine Distribution

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in Kent County, local governments and news sources have circulated data about peaks, hot spot areas and disparities in health outcomes and deaths. A group of local leaders came together to turn that data into real change for people in their communities.

Khary Bridgewater is a community advocate who chairs the Kent County Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Team. This team began as a task force leveraging the trust built in faith-based organizations to disseminate information about health protocols and guidelines. It includes over 200 faith- and neighborhoodbased organizations. “If you think about what a faith community is, it is really a group of families that are coming together around a shared belief,” Khary said. “They’re already deeply entrenched and committed to community level outcomes.”

The team works together to find the best ways to talk to their communities and share information from the Kent County Health Department, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others. Using faith-based and neighborhood organizations as the mouthpiece is one way that our community leaders are ensuring resources and information reach everyone. “Our constituency is really broad,” Khary noted. “If you want to reach the Black community, for example, there are a bunch of things that you can do, but no group or network of entities has as much hands-on engagement with the Black community as the Black church.”

A GRASSROOTS APPROACH TO EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION

While this task force has taken many forms over the past year and a half, this spring, as cases and variants rose in Michigan, the team seized an opportunity to make sure that vaccine distribution was more equitable. It developed community-based solutions to vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Activated by faith communities and community groups, volunteers worked with the healthcare system to secure dedicated vaccine appointments at various locations.

Volunteers learned that thousands of people who wanted vaccines didn’t have transportation to get them. But there were no resources to pay for transportation, so the opportunity to use those appointments could have been lost. They brought this need to Johngerlyn “Jonse” Young, who serves on the task force and is also the Community Foundation director of philanthropic services. “This approach aligns with the Community Foundation’s commitment to community-led philanthropy. It helps us understand the needs of the community from those who are closest to the work and challenges,” she said.

The Community Foundation used a Field of Interest Fund to fuel this community-led response. It provided $25,000 in immediate funding to cover transportation costs. “The nature of giving enough flexibility to those dollars and letting the community deploy them as they see fit creates this possibility where the community’s logic can be stood up as an example of efficient, behavioral response,” Khary said. “This catalytic philanthropy makes other systems say, ‘Oh, there’s wisdom in what the community is doing.’”

Pictured left to right: Khary Bridgewater; Sonja Forte, executive director, Baxter Community Center; Laura Moody; and Jonse Young

Bird + Bird Photography

A SHOT OF LOVE

While there are many reasons people are unable or unwilling to get a vaccine, including historical inequities in healthcare and vaccinations, this task force strives to eliminate barriers to access for those who are willing. Besides navigating transportation barriers, the group developed an awareness campaign called Shot of Love.

“When I hear the words ‘shot of love,’ it’s just what it is,” said Laura Moody, who retired after 44 years as a nurse. “It is showing love to the community, to let them know that you’re not out there alone. Whatever your need is, we’ll do whatever we can to help so that you have access.” As a Shot of Love volunteer, Laura has personally helped over 2,000 people find access to a vaccine. Her personal connection and trust within her community is what has made the effort so successful. “People know I am just a phone call away. It’s about love. We care because we love,” she said.

Volunteers like Laura and Khary are raising awareness through doorto-door outreach, transportation coordination, scheduling assistance and more. Many people and organizations came together to make this work happen. Baxter Community Center served as a fiduciary for the grant dollars from the Community Foundation, and the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute proactively helped the volunteers map out neighborhoods for canvassing. These efforts truly demonstrate the power of community-led solutions to reduce barriers and make change.