There is nothing more important than the health of our communities during this unprecedented time in our country. MICHR’s Community Engagement (CE) program is thinking about the needs of our partners, particularly Michigan’s most vulnerable populations, and compiled this toolkit to help us face these challenges together.
Michigan Communities Conquering COVID:
We've heard your questions, concerns, and the misinformation being circulated about the vaccines. In an effort to bring you answers, we've collaborated with Michigan Medicine's Community Health Services and our NIH-funded project, "'The Fierce Urgency of Now': Communities Conquering COVID," to host a monthly webinar series.
The third installment of "Michigan Communities Conquering COVID" was held on Monday, March 22 at 6:00 pm EST. It is available on YouTube. View our flyers in English and Spanish.
If you missed any of our past installments, you can recap the conversations on MICHR's Facebook and YouTube. Or you can check out our transcriptions of the event below.
Other Local Event Series:
Needs Assessment:
CE created a quick three-minute survey that will help us measure the needs of our stakeholders during this time. If you know of any immediate gaps that our team might be able to fill, please reach out to us directly at MICHR-CommunityEngagement@umich.edu.
Special Editions of CE Bridges:
CE temporarily increased the frequency of our online newsletter, CE Bridges. These special editions are themed to inform and stay connected with our academic and community partners during this difficult time.
Community Flyers:
In partnership with the onWHARD collaborative, CE developed an ongoing series of community-focused flyers to complement their “COVID-19: Stop the Spread” series. The new series, “Trust, Trials, and Treatment for COVID-19,” addresses frequently asked questions about vaccines in hopes of encouraging communities underrepresented in research to participate in Michigan Medicine’s trials.
These flyers have been written at an accessible reading level and incorporated community feedback to make them as useful as possible. There are multiple versions of each flyer depending on audience:
English speakers
Spanish speakers
Young adults
Seniors
PDF files should be used for printing or attaching to emails, and the PNGs should be used for social media or embedding within emails. Please feel free to add your own logo or send it to the CE team to have your logo included. If you would like hard copies, contact Amber Basnaw, CE's administrative assistant, at amgasser@umich.edu to coordinate a shipment
Additionally, Washtenaw County has made available online the flyers it includes in printed packets at local food distribution and testing sites. The Washtenaw County Health Department and Washtenaw Literacy also developed plain language flyers that are available online. However, CE does not offer printing support for these flyers.
CE Studios for COVID-19 Research:
Interested in gaining community input on your COVID-19 research? Apply today to host a Community Engagement Studio with MICHR for project-enhancing feedback on:
Research project design
Informed consent development and the consent process
Incentives for research participation
Participant recruitment processes
Developing culturally and linguistically appropriate materials
Understanding, interpreting, and sharing research results
Planning for long-term engagement and communication with community
Governor Resources:
Town Hall with Minority Communities: The State of Michigan is hosting a series of virtual town halls about the COVID-19 vaccine through Facebook Live on the MDHHS Facebook page. Residents will have the opportunity to hear about the safety, efficacy, and importance of the COVID-19 vaccine for safely opening Michigan.
Help with signing up for Vaccine Appointments – Coronavirus - Michigan residents have multiple options for vaccine sign-up – Residents who don’t have access to the internet or who struggle to use a computer can call the COVID-19 Hotline at 888-535-6136, which is available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For residents that do not have reliable internet access, they can call 2-1-1 for help with scheduling at vaccination clinics. What to know about vaccine scheduling.
Accessibility Resources from Georgia Tech:
Their goal is to increase access to information about COVID-19. This project was made possible with funding from the CDC Foundation. Resources on this site are adapted and accessible versions of CDC's COVID-19 guidance.
Other Resources:
CE has collected a number of resources (toolkits, flyers, videos, etc.) for basic necessities and other important information regarding COVID-19:
MLEEAD (local, regional, and national)
Michigan COVID-19 Pandemic Resource Guide published by Poverty Solutions at U-M
U-M Flint (community-specific)
Ebenezer Ministries (statewide and community-specific)
Genesee County Health Department (county-specific)
Connect2Community is an online portal that connects U-M students, staff, and faculty to engagement opportunities with non-profits, schools and other community agencies. Community partners throughout Southeast Michigan can post a variety of service opportunities for groups and individuals that range from one-time to long-term commitments. Individual students, student groups, and U-M affiliates can search for opportunities most suited to them by interest, date, phrase, distance and more. To support emerging needs related to the COVID-19 pandemic, agencies can "tag" volunteer opportunities as "COVID Response" and "Virtual Volunteering."