Make the Road CT, SHU Professor Land Grant to Make Vaccines More Accessible

Sofia Pendley will work with Make the Road Connecticut on mutual endeavor

Sacred Heart University professor Sofia Curdumi Pendley and community based organization Make the Road Connecticut (MRCT) have received a $100,000 Community Catalyst grant to make the COVID-19 vaccine more accessible for immigrants. The funding runs through next July.

Community Catalyst is a nonprofit national health organization that advocates for health equity and justice by empowering people to influence local, state and national decisions that affect their health. The organization’s new Vaccine Equity and Access Program supports community-based organizations led by and working with people of color to publicize and increase access to vaccines, specifically those for influenza and COVID-19.

Pendley, clinical assistant professor in SHU’s public health department, is a first-generation Cuban-American. She researches disaster resilience, the impact of disasters on health and health equity. Her research uses a partnership approach that involves community members’ first-hand accounts of experiences. Pendley is also a health-care advocate and during the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked to increase vaccination rates in Connecticut.

Make the Road Connecticut, which has offices in Bridgeport and Hartford, is a member-led organization made up of low-income and working-class Latinx living throughout the state. It advocates for immigrant and workers’ rights, education equity, health justice, women's rights and other issues. Make the Road CT builds power through community organizing, leadership development, transformative education and policy change.      

Pendley and her public health team will collaborate with Make the Road Connecticut to train vaccine clinic staff to better support the undocumented community. Master of public health students will conduct focus groups with community members to further understand the obstacles they face when trying to get vaccinated.

There are many barriers to accessing vaccinations. This project will focus on training health-care workers to identify and promote vaccine locations that can be easily accessed during a variety of hours, communicate eligibility regardless of immigration status and provide clear explanations on how personal information will be used. Pendley and MRCT hope to make vaccine clinics a welcoming space for all, thus increasing vaccination rates and stopping the spread of COVID-19.

“Make the Road has been hearing from members for years about different barriers they face in accessing quality health care, including lack of health insurance, language barriers, fear of being discovered as undocumented, a lack of understanding of the health care system, amongst others,” said Mary Elizabeth Smith, senior development and programs manager at Make the Road CT.  “These issues have only gotten worse during COVID … We are partnering with SHU on this project to tackle these barriers at the systemic level, by training vaccine clinic staff to create a more inclusive environment for immigrant, Latinx and non-English speaking communities.”

The grant will fund efforts to streamline the vaccination process, educate people on misconceptions regarding the vaccine and ensure that clinics in Hartford and Bridgeport are safe places for undocumented citizens to receive their immunizations.

Pictured, from left, are Sonia Hernandez and Wendy Cárdenas from Make the Road CT with Professor Sofia Curdumi Pendley and master of public health student Orlando Segui at the Center for Healthcare Education.