Greater Bergen Community Action received funding from the New Jersey Department of Health for our Health Equity initiative. With this grant, Greater Bergen Community Action will continue and expand the work started in December 2020, when we launched the Covid Vaccine Equity Team. The Equity Team has developed
strong relationships with faith leaders from many denominations, ethnic civic organizations, non-profit organizations serving vulnerable populations, childcare provider organizations, and the Ramapough Lenape Tribal Nation. We started our work believing that we would be combating vaccine hesitancy and mistrust, but we quickly realized that we are in a marathon to address health disparities in Bergen County.
The “Warm Chain of Trust” funding enables and empowers GBCA to provide outreach, education, and referrals to ensure that people have the information and access to the health care they need. Efforts for our Health Equity initiative are underway; and this past December, we welcomed our Health Equity Manager, Norkielys Pimentel, who has been working diligently to keep the communities we serve informed, and to leverage her knowledge and resources to help bridge the health equity gap.
Norkielys is a wonderful resource for staff, clients, and the community at large. She can conduct Social Determinants of Health screenings and make referrals within GBCA or to outside agencies.
While we have always understood it, the pandemic has been a strong reminder that Health is Wealth. We cannot help people out of poverty if they are not healthy in the process.
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