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Boys and Girls Club clinics bring vaccines into hard-to-reach communities

The nonprofit effort coordinates transportation and provides multilingual support services so more people can get access to COVID-19 vaccines.

PORTLAND, Ore. — The state is creeping closer to the governor's 70% threshold to reopen the entire state, But we're not there yet.

The Boys and Girls Club is working to close the gap by providing vaccine opportunities to marginalized communities. 

Over the weekend, they organized an event at the Regence Club location in North Portland. The goal was to reach families in hard-to-reach communities. "We wanted to provide an opportunity to get closer and deeper into the neighborhoods where marginalized families live so they can have access to walk-up clinics and access the vaccinations," said Terry Johnson, CEO of The Boys and Girls Club Portland.

He says while the state overall is closing in on the 70 percent first-dose vaccination target, families in Black and brown communities are getting vaccinated at lower rates.

"I think some people are more comfortable in smaller settings, and in settings where its in their neighborhood," said Johnson, "where they can come and ask questions. They also don't have a transportation barrier and they can walk down the street and access the clinic."

The vaccine events are free and open to the community. The group helps coordinate transportation to the clinics if needed — and provide support services in several languages, including Spanish and Somali. 

"As we push toward that 70% partially vaccinated threshold we want to make sure that hard-to-reach communities are not left behind," said Johnson.

Vaccination clinics are scheduled through the summer at various Boys & Girl Club sites.

There was also another vaccine event on Sunday at St. Peter Catholic Church in Southeast Portland. 

Oregon Health Science and University teamed up with Immigration Counseling Services (ICS), a nonprofit immigration advocate service, and the Oregon Latinx Leadership Network as sponsors of a COVID-19 vaccine clinic for the Latino community.

Frank Garcia Jr., helped organize it. He has spent most of his life in Oregon and works as an attorney with ICS, providing immigration counseling.

When the pandemic started, Garcia Jr. turned his business to assist individuals and families in the Latino community here. In addition to helping with COVID-19 vaccine outreach efforts, he began offering his services at no cost, providing legal aide and counseling services to those who have needed it most during this past year.

Editor's note: A correction was made to the article to clarify the organizations involved with the vaccine event.

RELATED: Tri-county Spanish speaking hotline helping people make vaccination appointments

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