Check out the January RIM Newsletter here.
“In the end, persistence and trust are probably the biggest things that worked well for us in getting the foothold that we have,” said Jonathan Marchand.
NACCHO had the opportunity to sit down with United Community Action Partnership’s (UCAP) Jonathan Marchand, Community Services Manager, and Heather Jeseritz, Community Services Director, earlier this month. UCAP offers everything- from at-home COVID tests to vaccines, and more- but the thing that stands out the most is the personal care and support they offer to the communities they serve.
“As a community action agency, our missions focus is on individuals and families who are in poverty. We have a number of different programs and services that are really geared towards leveling the playing field in different areas,” said Marchand.
Their goal is simple: take care of the communities that aren’t getting the care they currently need. This target population largely falls under the refugee, immigrant, and migrant communities in rural Minnesota.
Many of their community members get their foot in the door through the meat packing industry, because it’s so prevalent in this area of Minnesota and offers a living wage. “It is certainly still the intersection of poverty, of folks that don’t have ready access to meeting some of their basic needs,” said Marchand. “Transportation, communication, education, accessing some of the basic services that a lot of our population don’t even give a second thought to because that obstacle to getting that service has never been there.”
What we found most inspiring is the level of care and personal interest UCAP takes in the communities they serve. One thing they focus on that a lot of organizations neglect is follow-up care.
According to Jeseritz, it’s “that follow up piece with families that has been really great in terms of building that rapport and trust within the communities. That’s what UCAP strives to be- a trusted source of reliable information across the board.”
“We were really looking to reduce those inequalities in morbidity and mortality by getting folks connected with those vaccination sources,” said Marchand. That was a major goal for UCAP throughout this project. The work UCAP does and the relationships they have formed with their communities are invaluable. We can’t wait to continue watching the impact they have on the people they serve.
