Region 1 Launches Vaccine Partnership Efforts

HUD R1 Deputy Regional Administrator Rob Forti and Maine State Director Kelsey Brown stand by the Whittier Street Health Center's mobile health clinic van.

From left, HRSA Region 1 Administrator Jeffrey Beard; Whittier Street Health Center President and CEO Frederica Williams; Alice Heyward Taylor Tenant President Matilda Drayton; HUD Deputy Regional Administrator Robert Forti and Region 1 HHS Acting Regional Director Paul Jacobsen.

Getting shots in arms, that was the focus of a recent event at the Whittier Street Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Boston, to officially launch the region's efforts to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations among disproportionately affected communities, including HUD-assisted households and people experiencing homelessness.

"We are proud of the efforts that have taken place across New England to get people vaccinated," said Robert Forti, HUD New England Deputy Regional Administrator. "HUD is looking to assist in rounding out these tremendous efforts by conducting outreach to our HUD-assisted households to ensure that everyone across the region has equitable access and information to assist in making informed decisions."

The event was an amplification of the national partnership between HUD and Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on May 5 (www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/05/05/hhs-secretary-becerra-hud-secretary-fudge-announce-joint-effort-increase-access-covid-19-vaccinations.html), and it leverages the Health Center COVID-19 Vaccine Program (www.hrsa.gov/coronavirus/health-center-program). Joining HUD at the Whittier Street event were HHS Region 1 Acting Regional Director Paul Jacobsen, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Regional Administrator Jeffrey Beard, Whittier Health Center President and CEO Frederica Williams, Boston Housing Authority Administrator Kate Bennett, and Alice Heyward Taylor Tenant President Matilda Drayton.

"With help from HUD, City partners, Department of Housing and Community Development, and countless healthcare providers and pharmacists throughout Massachusetts, we've been able to hold vaccination clinics in every Boston Housing Authority public housing community and vaccinate more than 2,500 people," said BHA Administrator Bennett. "It has been a huge undertaking and remains a critical priority as we work to reach Boston's most vulnerable residents and return life to normal."

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