WORCESTER – As COVID-19 cases continue to rise due to the impact of the omicron variant, the city is recommending that people get tested before and after any holiday gatherings or travel.

"This is a really serious moment that we're in, probably the most intense spread of the virus we've seen since the pandemic started," City Manager Edward M. Augustus Jr. said. "If folks test positive, they need to isolate. If they're negative and they gather for the holidays, we recommend they test when they get back."

The city began giving out about 70,000 at-home COVID-19 testing kits Dec. 17, which are being distributed through various community organizations.

Boys & Girls Club of Worcester

The Boys & Girls Club of Worcester received 250 test boxes and it has already given all of them out.

“The need is great and the families and individuals receiving them are very grateful. Some of them are going to use it on Christmas morning before visiting elderly relatives. It’s been a real godsend for a lot of people and helps us limit potential COVID exposure,” said Liz Hamilton, executive director at the Boys & Girls Club of Worcester.

Centro Worcester

Centro Worcester, which received five cases of 90 tests each, started distributing them at its food pantry at 17 Charlton St.

"I think this is a great tool. Last year the biggest surge that Massachusetts saw was immediately before Christmas so this is a tool we're happy to have," said Jonathan Marien, director of social enterprise and economic enterprise at Centro Worcester.

African Community Education

African Community Education received the tests recently and plans to start distributing them this week, after it educates the parents of families it works with on how to use the test, according to Amy Corneliussen, grants manager.

Ansaar Worcester

The city manager said Worcester plans to distribute more tests this week to help limit the spread of the virus. A mobile clinic will start offering testing and vaccinations in Worcester soon.

When asked whether Worcester plans to implement a vaccination mandate similar to Boston, Augustus didn't discount the possibility.

"I have taken nothing off the table but right now we're focused on distributing the kits and expanding booster sites. We'll probably be reevaluating the city's vaccine policy over what constitutes full vaccination status and whether a booster should be included in that," Augustus said.

A full list of organizations involved in distribution of at-home COVID-19 test kits can be found on the city's website.

MASS. - Over 60 organizations across the state are receiving 65 grants totaling more than $20 million through the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program.

Among the 62 recipients are four Worcester organizations: Friendly House, Centro Las Americas, Living in Freedom Together (LIFT) and the Black Excellence Academy/Charles Houston Cultural Project.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy made the announcement on Thursday.

“As the inaugural round of grant recipients demonstrates, the Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program is a powerful source of assistance to address a wide range of needs with specific solutions developed by community leaders, coalitions, and established organizations that are known to, and live among, the people and neighborhoods they serve,” Polito said at Thursday’s announcement at UTEC in Lowell. “Through this grant program, we can harness that existing human capital and accelerate progress toward addressing those needs.”

The Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program is supporting projects and programming that respond to community-defined economic opportunities within eligible communities. The one-year grants support applicants seeking to address issues in communities that have historically faced disproportionate challenges to economic growth.

Projects awarded grants received priority if they are in areas that have experienced high rates of incarceration and widespread poverty, or are in communities of traditionally disadvantaged and underrepresented populations.

“Certain communities face unique challenges but also have the local assets and expertise to develop solutions,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. “By using this program to tap directly into those resources, we can position these trusted organizations for success in their efforts to strengthen their communities from within.”

Friendly House is receiving $63,301 for their “I, Too” program involving local business leaders, state and local government leaders and the Worcester Public Schools system. The program will provide 20 young people who are at a heightened risk of criminal justice system involvement with a positive role model to help guide, empower, and inspire them.

They awarded LIFT $491,740 for its Building Real Action for Viable Employment (BRAVE) program, which provides job training and skill building in Worcester for survivors of the sex trade.

The Black Excellence Academy/Charles Houston Cultural Project is awarded $50,000 to support its year-long out-of-school program for 50 Worcester Public School students in grades 1 through 6.

Centro Las Americas will receive $382,600 for its Towards Financial Empowerment program, a bi-lingual community collaboration for Worcester’s disproportionately affected communities, to leverage resources, form greater learning opportunities, including for those affected by incarceration, to overcome barriers to economic stability, from housing to entrepreneurship.

Also among the recipients is Berkshire Community College for the launch of the Second Street Second Chances initiative. SSSC is a one-stop facility which will offer wrap-around support services, case-management and workforce training opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals in order to reduce rates of recidivism in Berkshire County. For a full list of recipients and more information on the programs, click here.

Two days after Beacon Hill lawmakers grilled Gov. Charlie Baker about increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates across Massachusetts and overcoming stark racial disparities amid the omicron-induced surge, his administration on Thursday announced $13.5 million in new funding.

The money, part of the Massachusetts Vaccine Equity Initiative, is earmarked for community organizations in cities and towns disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus. State officials said the grants — made possible through federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — are intended to “increase awareness, acceptance and access to the COVID-19 vaccine.”

“These trusted community-based organizations and leaders know their communities and neighborhoods best,” Acting Department of Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said in a statement Thursday afternoon. “These organizations expand and amplify the efforts of our Vaccine Equity Initiative by helping address the immediate and long-term health equity needs in priority communities — needs that have been exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.”

Baker, testifying on Tuesday to the Joint Committee on COVID-19 and Emergency Preparedness and Management, said he was “all in” on ensuring more adults and children get their vaccine and booster shots. But the governor admitted pediatric vaccinations were proving to be a “more difficult sell” than anticipated.

“If there are things we aren’t doing in your areas, in your communities that you think would be helpful — either with your school districts, with your community health centers, with your faith organizations, with your kid programs — you should let us know what they are,” Baker had told lawmakers during a virtual hearing. “And we’ll do what we can to double-down on that because I want them to get vaccinated just as much as you.”

The majority of the grant dollars — $10.65 million — will help launch the Massachusetts Community Health Workers for Resilient Communities program, state officials said. Ten organizations, situated in nine priority communities, are slated to receive three-year grants for ramping up COVID vaccination efforts among community health workers and local boards of health.

The recipients include: Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, Whittier Street Health Center, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, MGH Chelsea HealthCare Center, Cambridge Health Alliance - Everett Care Center, Cambridge Health Alliance - Malden Care Center, Cambridge Health Alliance - Revere Care CenterLowell Community Health Center, Baystate Health and Caring Health Center, and Family Health Center of Worcester.

The Massachusetts Department of Public on Thursday said $675,000 was allocated to establish a vaccine equity program for rural communities. Nine community organizations will receive $75,000 each.

Those recipients include: Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, CHNA 9 (North Central), CHNA 9 (East Quabbin), Island Health, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition North Quabbin Community Coalition, Outer Cape Community Solutions, Southern Berkshire Rural Health Network and the town of Ware.

Under fire from lawmakers, Gov. Charlie Baker pours new funding into COVID vaccination efforts

All people, regardless of race, deserve the same rights and freedoms. As CENTRO works hard to assist individuals and families seeking to achieve self-sufficiency and build purposeful lives through our unique mix of comprehensive, integrated services, exceptional care, and unequaled cultural and linguistic competence, we celebrate Black History Month.

Black History Month was created to focus attention on the contributions of African Americans to the United States. It honors all Black people from all periods of U.S. history, from the enslaved people first brought over from Africa in the early 17th century to African Americans living in the United States today.

It was called Black History Week before it was Black History Month. Since 1926, other countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, have joined the United States in celebrating this race's contribution to the history and culture.

Today Black History Month continues the discussion of Black people and their contributions through activities such as museum exhibits and film screenings, and by encouraging the study of achievements by African Americans year-round.

Our Nation would never have been what it is without the contributions of our brothers and sisters, whose descendants can be traced back to the African continent. For this and many reasons, we join the countless voices who, this month, celebrate Black History Month.

May God continue to bless our Nation.

Courtesy: (AP Photo) BY SPECTRUM NEWS STAFF WORCESTER PUBLISHED 4:25 PM ET NOV. 06, 2021

Doses were administered at both the Worcester Public Library and Centro in Worcester's Main South during the day. The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine were available to children, as well as anyone who needed them. This is Centro's second vaccine clinic. They hosted one for adults earlier this year. Centro says they were hoping to vaccinate at least ten children Saturday.

"We're very fortunate to have this opportunity to be able to provide it to the age group which was recently approved," navigation equity specialist for Centro Dionela O'Connell said. "So, it's very important that we're part of this and just be able to offer it."

The clinic also featured raffles for adults, which included two $500 cash prizes. Children 5 to 17 had a chance to win a Nintendo Switch or an Apple Watch. Starting Monday, vaccines will be administered at all Worcester Public Schools for students ages 5 and up with parental consent.

Source: Spectrum News 1

Due to the current state guidelines in place for COVID-19, we plan to host a grand opening celebration at a later date when it is safe to do so.

In 2011, CENTRO received its first state contract to provide health care programming, beginning its evolution from being solely a social services agency focused on providing supports to area Latino households. Today, CENTRO is the largest multi-cultural, multi-linguistic, minority-led health and human services delivery system in central MA, serving in excess of (8,700) households across (51) MA cities and towns, with (35%) of our persons served being non-Latino. The important heritage of CENTRO’s Community Supports programming (Food Pantry & Community Supports Department) provides us a critical understanding of our clients’ needs and holds us all true to our mission statement.

CENTRO is committed to and capable of making a difference in the lives of the populations we serve. As laid out in our CENTRO VISION 2020 Strategic Plan, CENTRO has been making the investments necessary to become a 1-stop solution provider to low-income households seeking help to improve the social determinants of their health – their food insecurity, housing needs, employment, transportation requirements, as well as any other relevant services. Upon build-out of our service model/programs, no other provider in the area will be as valuable to the households in need, NOR to the final payers of the cost of these supports – whether they be MassHealth, Fallon Health Care, or whomever.

Many of us at CENTRO has recognized that the (30+) years food pantry operation in the non-handicapped-accessible basement of our HQs was not the best environment to build a positive (1st) experience from a trip to our pantry. Unfortunately, across the city, the reality is that the intake and assessment step for new arrivals to food pantries is a brief (7-8) question city and a federal-mandated form asking simply the household zip code, income, number of occupants, and a few other applicable questions.

What hasn’t been taking place is somehow uncovering the additional needs that certainly exist in these households. The premise of this initiative is that a handicapped-accessible, informative Food Pantry and Service Center by CENTRO, staffed with a trained and empathetic Community Health Worker (CHW), will be able to go beyond the past limited intake steps. We can begin to assess where else in our persons’ lives can we support their path to self-reliance and that the CHW can serve as a bridge to supports from CENTRO or other community-based organizations’ relevant programming.

CENTRO’s Food Pantry & Community Service Center will begin operation at 17 Charlton Street, Worcester MA 01608, at 9:00 am on Wednesday, May 12th. For the time being, the hours of operation will be Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, with the addition of afternoon services to be announced in the near future.

WORCESTER - More than 135,000 rapid, at-home COVID-19 test kits were distributed to 21 community organizations, social service agencies and other groups on Friday in Worcester.

“It's a huge benefit to people because we have to remember that these are our neighbors and they already have to face difficult decision between buying food, paying for their heating bill, or buying medication," Jean McMurray, CEO of the Worcester County Food Bank, said.

The City of Worcester’s Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health and the Office of Emergency Management distributed iHealth Labs OTC rapid antigen test kits. The city of Worcester was allocated 67,770 kits, each with two tests for a total 135,540 tests. The kits were provided by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

See List Below: 21 organizations receiving rapid test kits

Rapid test kit are selling for more than $20 at the drug store. The Worcester County Food Bank and its partners are handing out tests as people pick up their food for the holidays.

“That’s a way that I think that is really going to efficiently make sure that these kits get into the hands of the people who most need them," City Manager Edward Augustus Jr. said during Friday's disbursement of kits.

Worcester leaders are asking people to take the tests before and after traveling or attending holiday gatherings. There is continued concern in the city with cases rising and the new omicron variant.

Organizations like the Aids Project Worcester say some of their tests will go to people who might not have transportation to get to a testing site.

“A lot of our clients are on foot, individuals who don’t have the mobility that most have access to and also we go out into the streets," Lamar Brown-Noguera, community relations manager at AIDS Project Worcester, said.

The city is also working with the senior center, and housing authority to give out tests.

Along with the 21 organizations to receive the kits on Friday, anyone who gets their first, second or booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine at the Worcester Public Library’svaccine clinic on Saturday will also receive a kit while supplies last.

The library's vaccine clinic runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Main Branch at 3 Salem Square.

These are the 21 organizations receiving at-home test kits:

• African Community Education
• Ansaar of Worcester
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters
• Boys & Girls Club of Worcester
• Centro
• Dismas House
• El Buen Samaritano
• Friendly House
• Girls Inc.
• Guild of St. Agnes
• Hope for Worcester
• Main South CDC
• QCC - Food Pantry
• Pernet
• Project New Hope
• Rock of Salvation
• Worcester Common Ground
• Worcester Community Action Council
• Worcester Interfaith
• YMCA of Central Massachusetts
• YWCA of Central Massachusetts