Members of the first graduating class share candid conversations about vaccine concerns and acceptance in Black and Hispanic communities.
(SAVANNAH, GA) During the summer of 2021, Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia developed a series of listening sessions to provide a safe environment for Black and Hispanic Savannahians to voice their thoughts, concerns, and questions about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Funded by a supplemental grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the program was intended to broaden the initiatives of the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant by increasing vaccine awareness and acceptance in communities at high risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19 or flu.
Those who had participated in community listening sessions were asked if they would like to do more. About 19 accepted the challenge, and after taking online training, they went into their communities to talk with and listen to other individuals and groups about both the COVID-19 and flu vaccines. Of those initial 19, ten completed the 15-hour volunteer service requirements and are now the first graduates of Savannah’s Community Health Advocate program. These trailblazers are: Taahirah Shakoor, Beatriz Severson, Norman Luten, Leslie Walker, Charice Stroud, Ramona Drayton-Jackson, Ervenia Bowers, Cassie Jenkins, Kim Jackson-Allen and Pat Edwards.
“The biggest thing I learned from training was providing folks with accurate information,” said Pat Edwards. A social worker by trade, Edwards also utilized her experience as executive director of Medbank, Inc, a prescription assistance organization, in her outreach. “You have to meet people where they are. When I talk to people, they know I care. If you preach to them, they will tune you out.”
Edwards and her fellow community health advocates set up tables at school events, flea markets, festivals and health fairs. They listened to concerns and talked one on one with neighbors, students, parents, caregivers and friends. They handed out giveaways like hand sanitizer and sunglasses. But they were also equipped with factual flyers and knowledge to help dispel fears from historical mistrust to social media myths.
“I had just moved to Savannah and wanted to get involved,” said Charice Stroud. “I went to the meeting and talked about my COVID experience and listened to others. They talked about how to effectively communicate with people. You have to listen to have a conversation. I also learned the truth about the Tuskegee Study. There is a misunderstanding that those men were injected with syphilis. The truth that they were not was eye-opening.”
A lingering mistrust of the medical system among many Black people is rooted in the infamous 20th century U.S. study of syphilis that left Black men in Tuskegee, Ala., to suffer from the disease. The “Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male” was conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the United States Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 600 men in the study, 399 had the disease but were not treated in order to study the effects of untreated syphilis on Black men in the rural south. Penicillin became the treatment of choice for syphilis in the 1940s, but throughout the study, no treatments were administered. Dozens of men died and their wives, children and an untold number of others were affected or infected. In 1972, the study was deemed “ethically unjustified” and subsequently, all necessary medical care was provided for the survivors, their wives or widows and children. A class-action lawsuit in 1973 resulted in a $10 million, out-of-court settlement for participants and their families, and in 1997, President Bill Clinton issued a formal Presidential Apology for the study.
“What these first 10 graduates of the program did was groundbreaking,” said Elsie Smalls, Ph.D., operations manager. “We gave them the basic tools and they went out into the community and made a difference. Their grassroots efforts proved that this is an effective strategy to increase vaccine awareness and acceptance. They built the model for future community health advocates to follow.”
“Black and Hispanic people historically have been less likely than their white counterparts to receive a vaccine, largely due to systemic barriers,” said Nichele Hoskins, communication manager. “Community health advocates play a vital part in helping us understand the social factors that research shows play a critical role in health status and outcomes, as well as finding new ways to engage people in under-vaccinated communities.”
CDC data indicates that 74.4 percent of the total population in the United States have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Of those who reported their race, 10 percent were Black, 20 percent were Hispanic and 56 percent were white.
One fact that Leslie Walker learned during her training was that scientists had been working on a COVID-19 vaccination for a very long time. A social worker with the Savannah Chatham County public school system, Walker used what she learned to educate parents of students in the 5-12 age range about the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 and flu vaccines.
“I would talk with parents who came to pick up their children from the after-school program,” Walker said. ”I think the students were more excited than the parents because I had display tables with lots of handouts like cups, fans, ink pens, bags, shades, and hand sanitizer from Healthy Savannah’s REACH team. Their excitement drew the parents to my table. Many parents were unaware the vaccine had been approved for children ages 5-12. I also loved being able to collaborate with my church family and the annual Breast Cancer Walk in order to disseminate information.”
A native of the South American country of Colombia, Beatriz Severson is a registered nurse with a background in behavioral health who moved from Miami to Savannah two years ago. Although she was impressed by efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccine awareness and acceptance among Black and low-wealth Savannahians, she felt there was a gap in reaching out to the Hispanic community.
“I saw this as a tremendous opportunity to amplify the message to the Hispanic community,” she said. “After the pandemic came, I wanted to help ensure information about how the vaccine works was correctly translated into Spanish.”
Severson plans to continue her work as a community health advocate, to help Savannah’s Hispanic community better connect with providers and organizations. She is particularly interested in developing a relationship between the Migrant Equity Southeast (MESE) and the REACH grant program. MESE is a Latinx and immigrant-led 501©(3) organization based in South Georgia that advocates for immigrant rights and engages in mutual aid, education and outreach with the migrant and refugee communities of South Georgia.
Although many from the first group of graduates will continue their mission to raise awareness of COVID-19 and flu prevention, Healthy Savannah and the YMCA are now seeking applications for the second cohort of community health advocates. The new group will undergo online training in March to be able to take easily understood, science-based information into the community in March, April and May. In addition to the $500 stipend they’ll receive for completing the program, the advocates will have the opportunity to sharpen their leadership skills, learn about health advocacy, and add outreach experience to their resumes.
“We are looking for anyone from university students considering a career in public health or social work to retirees who can give back from their vast life knowledge and career skills,” said Hoskins. “This is also a good opportunity for those working in social services or counseling and those from the community or faith-based groups looking for a service opportunity. A healthcare professional background is not required.”
To apply to the program or for more information, contact Dr. Smalls at elsie@healthysavannah.org or (843) 323-9997.
ABOUT THE YMCA OF COASTAL GEORGIA/HEALTHY SAVANNAH GRANT FOR RACIAL AND ETHNIC APPROACHES TO COMMUNITY HEALTH: In September 2018, Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Georgia were awarded a five-year, $3.4 million grant called Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health. Awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the funding is being deployed in an “upstream” approach by the Savannah/Chatham County project team to foster sustainable health equity among Black residents in low-wealth neighborhoods. The aim of the local project, called Healthy Opportunities Powering Equity, or HOPE, is to increase the availability of high-quality nutrition; promote physical activity through creating greater access to safe places to walk, run, bike and play; and foster stronger connections between people and the healthcare providers who serve them. Working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, the team is committed to elevating the health and wellness of the community through policy, systems, and environmental change.
healthysavannah.org ymcaofcoastalga.org.
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