HUD, HHS-HRSA, Rainbow Push Coalition, Family Christian Health Center, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief And Capital Realty Group Collaborate To Increase Access To COVID-19 Vaccination Among HUD Assist

HUD, HHS-HRSA, Rainbow Push Coalition, Family
Christian Health Center, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief And Capital Realty Group Collaborate To Increase Access To COVID-19 Vaccination Among HUD Assisted Communities
    Federal officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) alongside Family Christian Health Center; Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Rainbow PUSH Coalition;
and, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief were at Concordia Place Apartments, a HUD-assisted multifamily housing complex owned and operated by Capital Realty Group, to provide COVID-19 vaccinations and other resources as a part of a joint agency effort to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations
among disproportionately impacted communities, including HUD-assisted households. Concordia Place Apartments
has over 720 HUD-assisted residents of which nearly half are under the age of 18.
    A national partnership between HUD and HHS was announced on May 5th in accordance with the Biden-Harris Administration’s overarching commitment to an equitable response to COVID-19. This joint initiative encourages community partnerships with local HUD grantees and program participants, including single-family and multifamily housing owners and managers, public housing authorities and numerous key allies committed to serving the most vulnerable among us.
     Participating in today’s event were HUD Deputy Regional Administrator James A. Cunningham; HHS-HRSA Regional Administrator Tamara J. Cox; Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Dr. Lisa Green, CEO and Cofounder of Family Christian Health Center, Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief and Capital Realty.
   “When people organize and address the issues of mold, mildew, rats and roaches...when people finally come together
and their demands are being met and they have their houses cleaned out, recreation for the children, laundromats for the adults, this project is in play and is going very well,” said Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. referring to HUD’s commitment
to oversee the rehabilitation of the Concordia Place Apartments. Rev. Jackson is also pleased that the Concordia
Place Apartment residents will be given COVID-19 vaccinations including the children.
    “I’m so thankful to see great healthcare organizations like Family Christian Health Center still fighting to see that EVERYONE has access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Donna Miller, County Commissioner, 6th District.
     “We are proud of the efforts underway to ensure that the most impacted populations get vaccinated,” said James
A. Cunningham, HUD Midwest Deputy Regional Administrator. “At HUD, it is our highest priority to ensure that HUD-assisted households have equitable access and resources available to
make informed decisions.”
     “Getting vaccinated is the most important thing you can do to help protect yourself and loved ones from COVID-19,” said Tamara Cox, HRSA Regional Administrator, Region 5. “Everyperson who chooses to get vaccinated
brings us all a step closer to moving past the pandemic.”
     “We are proud to be a participant of this crucial local roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine for the safety and preservation of our most vulnerable communities in the Chicagoland area and across the State of Illinois,” said Dr. Lisa Green, C.E.O. of Family Christian Health Center. “No one is safe until everyone is safe and Family Christian Health Center is dedicated and committed to mobilizing the vaccine in our communities and making them more widely accessible at the local level.”
    “Illinois Baptist Disaster Relief is pleased to provide food products and supplies through compassion ministry events such as this,” said State Director Everett Porter. “Our food distribution ministry is a result of partnerships that opened up to us during the pandemic.” HUD and HHS expect the effort to
reach over 6,000 multifamily housing properties, 6,700 homeless shelters, and approximately 7,500 public-housing properties across the country to respond to and stop the spread of COVID-19.
     For more information on the joint effort, visit: https://www.hud.gov/sites/ dfiles/PA/documents/Fact-sheet-HUDHHS- vaccine-effort.pdf.
     To find a local health center, visit: https://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/

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