Triangle J Area Agency on Aging Receives NADO Award for COVID-19 Outreach & Education Initiative
The Triangle J Council of Government’s Area Agency on Aging recognized the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations for maintaining the health of older adults in their seven-county North Carolina region. In response, it developed the COVID-19 Outreach and Education Initiative to increase access to and education of COVID-19 vaccines for those who are unable to leave home, elderly adults, and their caregivers. A myriad of outreach and educational activities were conducted in the seven-county area to reach individuals who are homebound with approved messaging and educational materials, including information about the state of NC’s at-home vaccination program. Moreover, the Council created a COVID-19 Outreach and Education mini-grant program to provide 11 small community organizations and local governments with funding to conduct their own outreach initiatives. These were funded to increase the uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations in the target populations through intimate and trusted outreach within more marginalized and underserved communities. To date, this project has contributed to the successful COVID-19 vaccination of over 1,300 individuals, about 800 of whom are homebound.
Project Partners: Jewish Family Services; Disability Rights NC; Durham Center for Senior Life; Meals on Wheels of Wake, Durham, Orange, Moore; Community and Senior Services of Johnston County; Careyaya; Wake County Health Department; Lee County Enrichment Center; All Councils on Aging within Region J; El Refugio; El Centro Hispano; Wake, Durham, Chatham Public Health Departments; New Home and Durham Missionary Baptist Association; Vaccine Ambassadors; Durham Public Library; Greater Waltown Gospel Church; Raleigh East Village; Resources for Seniors; Interfaith Food Shuttle; NC Reading Service; Fiesta Christiana; NCDHHS; Chatham Health Alliance; Human Services Consulting Group – Orange County Vaccine Distribution; Johnston Network on Aging; ACCORD Project at NCCU; Sister Circle of Wake County; Area Agencies on Aging across all North Carolina Regions; Health Equity Council of Orange County; Regional Advisory Council on Aging; Health Literacy for Wake County; Chatham and Wake CRC; Regional Advisory Council on Aging; Senior Tarheel Legislator; The Center for Volunteer Caregiving; Chatham Council on Aging; Community Health Coalition; Durham Center for Senior Life; El Pueblo; Iglesia La Semilla; Meals on Wheels of Wake County; Moore County Department of Aging; Southeastern Wake Adult Day Center; Triangle Empowerment Center; W.A.R.4Life
The annual Impact Awards program honors NADO members for their creative approaches to advancing regional economic development and improving quality of life. These projects have made significant impacts on their regions and demonstrate the diversity of services and program delivery provided by regional development organizations across the country.
The 2022 class of awardees consists of 107 projects from 71 organizations spanning 28 states. These projects were recognized on October 17 at NADO’s Annual Training Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Click here to explore the awards StoryMap to to learn more about these projects!