Community engagement key to Norfolk vaccination efforts

Localized contacts important allies for residents

Vaccination efforts in the Hampton Roads area are strengthened by the recent opening of the Community Vaccination Center at the Military Circle Mall. Together with the commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Department of Health, local health and emergency management officials and FEMA, partnerships with community organizations are essential for the success of this joint effort.

While commonwealth, local and federal resources are pooled to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in Virginia, collaboration with local civic leagues, houses of worship, community leaders and private sector partners are what truly make this a whole community approach.

Raising awareness of the

FEMA-supported mission goes beyond the walls of the repurposed shopping mall location, which has been temporarily transformed into a streamlined vaccination site. To reach those that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, the people who need this lifesaving vaccine the most, you need the one thing that usually only comes after years of building any kind of relationship — trust.

It is through local interactions that we are able to better understand a community’s unique challenges, concerns and needs. In the Hampton Roads area, this includes equal access to information in different languages, providing hiring opportunities and addressing immigration status apprehensions.

Localized contacts — pastors, tribal chiefs, neighbors and small businesses are some of our most important allies, especially in a mission with the size and scope of the COVID-19 response. It is through their established credibility and standing within the communities they serve that we can begin to create a collective consciousness about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Visiting low-income apartment housing complexes and supermarkets helps get information into the hands of the underserved and underrepresented. By engaging with local chambers of commerce, we are opening doors and identifying opportunities that may help different economic sectors of the community.

Leveraging these strategic connections helps ensure that a unified message resonates with people across all walks of life, and that they take action. By actively engaging in this style of grassroots coordination, thousands of Hampton Roads area residents are receiving COVID-19 vaccines at the FEMA-supported site each day.

Each component of a community plays an important role in improving everyday conditions for themselves and for the generations that follow. As a united voice for the benefit of residents we are not only encouraging vaccination, we are promoting resilience.

A resilient community is one that is able to face hardship head-on. Arming residents with access to accurate information and coordinating with trusted local ambassadors empowers communities to strengthen their capabilities. And this goes beyond the pandemic — a sustainable community has the ability to leverage its resources to supplement local and federal emergency management capacities across any disaster. Along with an individual sense of resolve to move forward, we are helping provide the tools to get communities to their new normal.

For the people of the Hampton Roads area, it’s more than getting shots in arms. It is about grandparents hugging their grandchildren again, single parents returning to the workforce safely and local businesses recovering some of what they’ve lost during the last year. It is about equal access to vaccines for the entire community.

Through our collaborative mix of assistance from federal partners and local stakeholders, we are building key relationships that will have a positive impact on communities, which will endure long after the FEMA-supported site completes its mission.

If you’re interested in receiving a free COVID-19 vaccine, take action now to schedule your appointment today:

Go to vaccinate.virginia.gov Talk to someone at 877VAX-IN-VA or 877-829-4682

Come in-person to 880 Military Circle Mall in Norfolk.

Janice Barlow is the acting FEMA Region 3 administrator. With more than 20 years of experience with FEMA, she has provided guidance and direction to state and local governments, non-government organizations and citizen groups on a variety of emergency management topics.