The Kresge Foundation has announced commitments totalling $2 million in support of vaccine access and health equity in Detroit.
The funding includes $1 million in support of COVID-19 vaccine outreach and access efforts by community health centres, community development organizations, and human service agencies — $600,000 of it targeted to organizations in northwest and southwest Detroit, where COVID-19 case rates are the highest in the city. In addition to outreach, education, and transportation to vaccine sites, the funds also will support efforts to connect residents with resources to meet basic needs such as food, housing, and mental health services. Recipients include ACCESS, Advantage Health Centers, Bridging Communities, and Sinai Grace Community Development Corporation.
The foundation also will award $1 million in grants, to be announced in the near future, in support of efforts to promote vaccine access and availability, including partnerships with other nonprofits and the City of Detroit.
“Vaccine eligibility does not automatically ensure equitable or convenient access, particularly for low-income communities and communities of colour,” said Wendy Lewis Jackson, managing director of the Kresge Foundation’s Detroit Program. “It is important to address our longstanding inequities in the health field at the neighbourhood level.”
