Fueled By Local Hands: Chicago

FUELED BY LOCAL HANDS

Elevating Community Health Access in Chicago

In 2020, CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort) urgently mobilized during the pandemic to support the equitable distribution of lifesaving resources, tests, and vaccines across the U.S. and abroad. CORE partnered with the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to administer COVID-19 testing across the metro area when the work was most needed, providing a total of 435,000 tests.

Starting in 2021, CORE began operating immunization clinics in partnership with CDPH at select City Colleges of Chicago. With the organization MobileVax, CORE administered 70,000 vaccines across Chicago. When the city experienced an influx of migrants in need of preventative care in late 2023, CORE answered the call to administer COVID-19, MMR, Varicella, and Flu vaccines.

Over the years, community members from across the city have come together to work at CORE’s clinics, providing vital services to ensure Chicago can address its comprehensive public health needs. Read below to learn more about them and their passion for public health.

Community members lines up a CORE vaccination clinic in Chicago

People sit at tables inside getting vaccination at a clinic in Chicago.

Community members lines up at a vaccination clinic in Chicago.

Community members waiting in line at a vaccination clinic.

A man sitting at a table waiting to get his vaccine.

An overview shot of people at a vaccination clinic in Chicago.

Two young boys run with capes toward a registration table.

Two boys with capes standing in front of a table at a vaccination clinic in Chicago.

Tarae Cain

Before joining CORE, Tarae worked as a health educator in Belize with the Peace Corps. Then, the pandemic hit, forcing her and everyone else in the Corps back home. For Tarae, that meant Chicago. Sitting at home, as most of us did, Tarae watched as the pandemic impacted the communities around her.

With her prior experience, including a Master of Public Health degree from DePaul University, Tarae knew she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. She wanted to help. That’s when she first learned about CORE.

In 2021, Tarae joined the organization and began working at immunization clinics, helping coordinate the life-saving work. As CORE’s Chicago Area Manager, Tarae’s responsibilities evolved into overseeing seasonal vaccination efforts, often wearing many hats, liaising with CDPH and MobileVax, as well as fielding staff for the clinics. Luckily, she hasn’t had to look too far. Over the years, Tarae turned towards community members, many of whom have worked with CORE since the early days of the pandemic. It often feels like a family coming back together.

Each season is an opportunity to impact her community, and Tarae takes immense pride in her work at CORE.

“I’m proud of everything. Just being a part of something like this is something that I’ve always wanted to do. Being embedded in a community-driven approach when trying to garner healthcare resources for those in need. So, I’m just overall proud to be a part of that type of programming but also being able to connect with people that look like me and work with people that look like me every day and really help them empower people and build them up.”

LaKeena Owens

LaKeena first heard about CORE while watching the news. Soon after, she applied to join the team. As site manager, she oversaw the registration and check-in process for patients who came to the vaccination clinics.

LaKeena ensured that everyone received the vaccine they signed up for and that their day ran smoothly, from when they arrived to when a medical professional administered the vaccine to the mandatory observation time afterward. She wanted the entire process to be as easy for community members as possible.

The importance of this work wasn’t lost on LaKeena. She saw it as helping take care of the community’s well-being. She understood the importance of providing this vital resource to those who often don’t have the time, the money, or the access to yearly preventative vaccinations. The work is about giving back to her community, ensuring everyone has the same equitable access to healthcare regardless of income.

“Not a lot of people in our community can get out there to get COVID vaccines, flu vaccines. So, we’re coming out, and reaching out to the community and saying, ‘Hey, we’re here. Come on down.’”

Jaimie Tountas

Jamie’s organization, MobileVax, partnered with CORE beginning in 2021, during the height of the pandemic, helping facilitate healthcare staff for mobile pop-up vaccination clinics across Chicago. MobileVax continued supporting CORE in Chicago and Georgia with vaccination efforts.

For Jamie, this partnership has been critical in reaching some of these communities that have historically lacked sufficient health access. She understands that many community members can’t access these critical vaccines when they most need them. These clinics uplift communities, allowing them to take care of themselves and have better, long-term health outcomes.

Jaimie encouraged anyone interested in helping with these vaccine clinics to reach out for the opportunity. Even though she had an entire career in nursing in Chicago before joining MobileVax, Jaimie, like so many of the people who operated these clinics, had no idea that this was where her professional journey would take her. All it took was the first step that changed everything.

“Helping so many people has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. We have built such a great team on the mobile side in partnership with CORE that every year we continue to run this program, whether it be at the city colleges, at a remote site, or just out in the public. We get so many heartfelt ‘thank you’s from families, who said that they wouldn’t have anywhere to go if it wasn’t for us being able to come and host an on-site.”

CORE’s vaccination work is an extension of our organization’s commitment to expanding health access among marginalized and underserved communities. CORE views equitable healthcare as a human right and something essential for community empowerment. When residents can access essential health services, they can have a better quality of life, spending less time and money addressing ailments and more time fostering community and self-growth.

If you’d like to learn more about CORE’s health access initiatives, from continued vaccination work in Georgia to opioid addiction programs in North Carolina and mental health programs in California, please visit our pillar page.