On a mild afternoon in mid-December, Kathey Avery knocked on several doors in Shiloh, a historically Black neighborhood in south Asheville.
The residents who answered knew her well. They were her clients, each a woman over 50 who leans on Avery, a community nurse, for help navigating America’s often-byzantine health care systems.
“I trust Kathey with my life,” Angelique Scott said.
On this afternoon, Avery handed each woman a small holiday-decorated bag with a gift card, a mask, and a page of basic vaccine facts inside. Stepping 6 feet back, she explained she was stopping by to “give a little information” on the incoming coronavirus shots.