At the peaceful protest, the group called for a City Council resolution for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel. City Councilman Joe Solomon said he would present a resolution to that effect at Wednesday night s City Council meeting.
WVPB Dignitaries gathered from the opening of the new Health Right Clinic on Charleston s West Side.
The opening of a small, community clinic brought out a big crowd on Charleston’s West Side Tuesday including many of the state’s top political and elected officials who came to the grand opening of the city’s new Health Right Clinic.
Health Right clinics provide free, comprehensive health care for uninsured and low-income people. State officials and members of the Charleston West Side community say the new clinic is meant to bridge a gap in health care coverage in the capital city.
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.
WVPB
The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department hosted a COVID-19 vaccine in Rand, WV, just 8 miles Southeast of Charleston in February.
As more people in West Virginia get their shot, the state is diversifying how it gets COVID-19 vaccines out to people. With a goal to get shots in everyone’s arm, the state and local health departments are figuring out how to reach everyone, no matter their location or demographics.
One way to reach certain folks is through smaller clinics outside of city centers. And these small community clinics are relying on small community outreach.
If you live in Kanawha County, and are lucky enough to get scheduled for your vaccine shot, you’ll probably end up driving downtown to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. Most weekends, it’s open for a mass vaccination clinic.