Whittier Street Health Center Launches Covid-19 Mobile Vaccination With Community-Based Groups in Communities of Color in Boston
The Whittier Street Health Center (WSHC), a comprehensive and innovative health care and wellness center championing equitable access to high-quality, cost-effective health care for diverse populations, proudly announces its partnership with community-based organizations in Boston, including the Brazilian Worker Center, Hyde Square Task Force, Agencia ALPHA, León de Judá and Lawyers for Civil Rights, in launching a mobile COVID-19 vaccination unit.PRESS RELEASE UPDATED: MAR 16, 2021 09:00 EDT
BOSTON, March 16, 2021 (Newswire.com) – Through this partnership, WSHC’s Mobile Health Vans will bring life-saving vaccines directly to Boston’s hard-hit BIPOC communities, focusing on critical site-based interventions, including León de Judá’s bilingual congregation, the Brazilian Worker Center’s headquarters in Allston, and Hyde Square Task Force’s headquarters in Boston’s Latin Quarter. Hundreds of individuals will directly receive vaccines as a result of this innovative partnership. More BIPOC congregations and community groups, including those affiliated with the Greater Boston Latino Network, are fully expected to join the partnership as it deepens and expands to meet the urgent need for vaccination. The partnership is designed to leverage trusted community partners to help close the racialized vaccine gap experienced by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities.
WSHC’s innovative and community-focused model of mobile vaccination alleviates the need for people who are elderly, high-risk or living with disabilities to travel to distant mass vaccination sites. Critically, WSHC also embraces the cultural and linguistic diversity of BIPOC populations and provides multilingual healthcare services through its Mobile Vaccination Clinics. The first clinic will be held at the Lion de Juda Church on 68 Northampton Street, South-End, Boston on March 18 from noon to 6 pm and at the Brazilian Workers Center at 14 Harvard Street, Allston, MA 02134 from 10 am to 4 pm.
In response to alarming racial inequities in vaccine distribution, WSHC and Lawyers for Civil Rights joined forces to convene grassroots groups to explore community-based interventions such as setting up vaccination tents and hosting mobile vaccination units. Lawyers for Civil Rights applaud the leadership and community-focused priorities demonstrated by WSHC’s incredible partnership with the Brazilian Worker Center, Hyde Square Task Force, Agencia ALPHA, León de Judá, and other organizations. Lawyers for Civil Rights stands ready to support and facilitate such collaborative efforts to bring vaccines to the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
WSHC and Lawyers for Civil Rights are encouraging other hospitals and healthcare providers to establish similar partnerships with grassroots and non-profit community organizations in Greater Boston, Worcester, Springfield, and across the Commonwealth.
For future weekly schedules, please visit: www.wshc.org
To learn more contact:
Frederica Williams
Frederica.Williams@wshc.org
617 989 3221
Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal
iespinoza@lawyersforcivilrights.org
617 989 0624
Samuel Acevedo
sacevedo@bostonherc.org
617 733 2329