Elder Denise White, a pastor, was one of the participants. The class was her idea. She and the church know that the West Side’s health needs are far-ranging.
“The West Virginian population tends to be at the lower levels of all the health indexes across the board,” she said.
The state ranks
Across West Virginia, faith-based organizations are filling needs in their communities. Beyond spiritual guidance, places of worship can offer their members a sense of community, and resources like food and clothing.
Elder White says her place of worship gives out food baskets regularly, serving hundreds of people at a time. With the coronavirus pandemic, the church found itself hosting free COVID-19 testing. It also streamed a Facebook video of their leading pastor, Bishop Robert Haley III, getting a coronavirus vaccine earlier this year, to encourage others to do the same.