The Tepeyac Community Health Center in Denver is going door-to-door to help keep the Globeville Elyria Swansea neighborhood healthy from COVID-19. Over the past month, their community health workers have been having face-to-face conversations with families in the area to convince those who my be hesitant to get the vaccine.
“When we have the opportunity to talk to someone we can hear what are their concerns are, especially talking about the COVID vaccines,” said Susana Arreola, one of the health promotors. “Sometimes we talk to them and we discover there’s some misinformation regarding getting the vaccines.”
Over the last several weeks, Tepeyac’s community health workers have knocked on about 3,000 doors in the area. According to data from the Colorado Health Institute, about 75% of population in the Globeville Elyria Swansea neighborhood, ages 12 and older, have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. And the Tepeyac Community Health Center’s CEO, Jim Garcia, believes the clinic’s efforts are playing a part in this success.
“Through these conversations, we’ve actually convinced people to get the vaccine and that wouldn’t of happened from social media or a phone call,” said Garcia.
Garcia said they’ve been able to persuade about a 1,000 people to get the shot.
Resident Sara Moreno received her vaccine at a different community clinic called Mi Casa, but she said it was because of Tepeyac’s outreach and easy access to a mobile vaccination site in the neighborhood that she was able to convince her kids, grandchildren, and co-workers to get vaccinated.
“I appreciate that there are people like them. That they come all the way to your home. Sometimes it’s information you don’t know,” Moreno said.
For Moreno, it’s that front door connection, that relationship, that makes all the difference in the fight against the virus.
“I hope that people will keep getting vaccinated. Have the confidence. It’s for the good of all of us,” she said.
