Org Focus: Health literacy & education services
Grant Funding: Vaccine education & clinics
Website: hcsdv.com
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Based on an interview with Kristin Ball Motley, Founder
Health Care Solutions is passionate about helping people make confident decisions about their health. When COVID-19 hit, the need for this became even stronger as concerns around safety increased rapidly.
The pandemic exposed and heightened health disparity. It caused a lot of stress, death and sickness for everyone, but especially among African Americans. When vaccines became available it was great, but lots of Black people were hesitant. There was a lack of trust for good reason. The past taught them to be cautious because of historical exploitation, while present misinformation and negative experiences within healthcare drove people away from getting vaccinated.
We knew that increasing vaccination rates was the best way to protect our community. Our focus was to build trust, then educate and vaccinate. To get out there we created billboards, social media campaigns, focus groups, hosted webinars, held events, went door knocking and even joined a radio broadcast. All were personal and done with understanding, not pressure.
Once they felt confident about getting vaccinated, we worked to meet people where they were at. We found opportunities to host clinics where people would already be and made sure volunteers were reflective of the community itself.
Basketball brings people together in Chester. We held one clinic during a game that hundreds of people attended at Chester High School. That night 53 people got vaccinated and we were able to talk to many more. By meeting people with understanding in places that felt safe, we built trust and educated in a way that dismantled misinformation and brought joy.
We all need to be more empathetic. We are quick to hear something about a person and judge but never try to understand their perspective. Once we take the time to listen and learn their why, we’ll be able to understand other people better and move conversations forward and bring people together.
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic at Chester High School