ELIZABETH, N.J., Jan. 5, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — A disproportionate number of Latino/Latinx communities across the US have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. According to the CDC, Latino/Latinx individuals, when compared to non-Hispanic White persons, are 2.8 times more likely to become infected with COVID-19, nearly 4.6 times more likely to become hospitalized by the virus, and are 1.1 times more likely to die from it. PROCEED, Inc.,- NCTSTA, a nonprofit organization located in Elizabeth, New Jersey, has been commissioned by the CDC to lead a national Capacity Building Assistance program, “Building Latino Community Capacity to Respond to COVID-19.” The program is intended to increase the capacity of Latino/Latinx communities to respond to the pandemic, specifically in states where COVID-19 has hit Latino/Latinx communities the hardest. To achieve its aim, PROCEED, Inc.,- NCSTA is funding and partnering with trusted national and local Latino/Latinx-identified and Latino/Latinx-serving community-based organizations (CBO’s) that work with Latino/Latinx populations at elevated risk for COVID-19. Project components will include:

• Strategically assessing the impact of COVID-19 among Latino/Latinx communities, or segments of the community, disproportionally affected by COVID-19 in key U.S. states.
• Designing culturally, linguistically, and situationally competent bilingual COVID-19 messaging for various segments of the Latino/Latinx population.
• Training & mobilizing teams of Promotoras/Community Health Workers to deliver accurate COVID-19 prevention messages and community mitigation strategies to stay healthy during and after the pandemic.
• Convening a high-functioning Latino/Latinx COVID-19 National Advisory Committee (NAC) comprised of partners, funders, and key community stakeholders across the US.
• Linking communities to local COVID-19 testing, treatment, resources and other health & human services to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the Latino/Latinx communities in targeted regions.

Collectively, this national COVID-19 Latino/Latinx coalition will help expand the projects’ reach across various health, human services, faith-based, social, and economic sectors. The coalition will ensure that accurate, timely, and culturally & linguistically appropriate information and resources are accessible to the most vulnerable Latino/Latinx groups. Promotoras, trusted community health workers, will help facilitate awareness and science-based information related to COVID-19 prevention, testing, and treatment. They also will refer and link individuals and families to essential services offered by trusted local providers. Six community-based Core Partner organizations have been funded by PROCEED, Inc.,- NCTSTA to implement this initiative: Farmworker Justice, Latino Commission on AIDS (LCAO), El Centro, Progreso Latino, Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition (CHHC), and Rural Community Workers Alliance (RCWA). Together they will reach Latino/Latinx communities in California, Florida, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, Rhode Island, Illinois, New York City, and Oregon. Jointly, they will work with Latino/Latinx communities that include, but are not limited to, individuals with pre-existing chronic health conditions, women and families, immigrants, and essential workers (e.g., meatpacking workers, farmers), among other Latino/Latinx segments across the acculturation spectrum. The project launched in September and will run through June 2021.

**The “Building Latino Community Capacity to Respond to COVID-19” project is 100% supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under CDC/HHS Funding Opportunity OT18-1802, entitled “Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation’s Health” via a Cooperative Agreement with PROCEED, Inc. The contents are those of the author(s)and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.

Esther Sciammarella [email protected]
312-842-2340

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SOURCE PROCEED, Inc.; Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition