HUD secretary visits Newark to encourage homeless, public housing residents to get vaccine – NorthJersey.com

Federal Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge lauded New Jersey’s efforts to vaccinate hard-to-reach populations, touted President Joe Biden’s jobs proposal and attended the groundbreaking of a Hoboken infrastructure project meant to prevent storm damage after Superstorm Sandy during her first official visit to the state as HUD secretary Thursday. 

“This is really, really inspiring for me,” Fudge said, standing in front of Wynona Lipman Gardens, brick townhouses managed by the Newark Housing Authority. Every Thursday, the community health center Saint James Health offers a pop-up center for vaccines, testing and food to those who preregister and to walk-ins. 

“We find that there are so many impediments for people to get their shots,” said Fudge, Biden’s Housing and Urban Development secretary. “They don’t have transportation, it’s too far. I can’t take a bus or even if people are providing rides, they don’t want to take the time to go stand in line because they don’t know what’s going on.

“They have difficulty navigating the system to register early so sites like this just make their lives easier, and for people who are hardest to convince, we need to make it as easy as we possibly can,” Fudge said. “And so we come to them.”

On Wednesday, Fudge and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced a vaccine drive aimed at reaching hard-to-convince populations — such as those experiencing homelessness and those living in public housing — by tapping community leaders and visiting places such as Wynona Lipman Gardens. 

Ten chairs spaced 6 feet apart snaked between red “danger do not enter” tape tied to cones for those waiting to get their shots. Music blasted from speakers next to two white tents surrounded by blue, white and yellow balloons.

People given blue tote bags could pick out food displayed on fold-out tables, like canned peaches, vegetables, pasta and spaghetti sauce. A royal blue King Softee Truck covered in cartoon sprinkles offered others a frozen treat. 

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Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said 40% of city adults have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine. Essex County officials said they would temporarily close sites such as at Donald Payne School in Newark due to low demand, but Baraka said the city needs more of these local pop-ups. 

“[We have to] go to the neighborhoods,” Baraka said. “Honestly, the big vaccination sites are good, but it’s not exactly what we need in the community. We’re going to be in the neighborhoods and allow people to walk up without the pre-registration process. We’re moving forward steadily.”

Newark residents can visit Newarkvaccine.com to schedule an appointment at one of the Saint James Health sites that change each day, such as East Side High School, Malcolm X Shabazz High School, Willing Heart Community Care Center and the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. The sites have administered 10,219 first shots, 8,512 second shots, and 2,511 single-shot Johnson & Johnson doses, said Saint James Health CEO Nicole Fields. 

Earlier in the day, Fudge joined Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. Albio Sires and other leaders on theHoboken waterfront to celebrate the groundbreaking of a “Rebuild by Design” infrastructure project meant to protect communities along the Hudson River from flooding and rising sea levels. 

The HUD secretary also hyped Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, a proposal that would include $213 billion for new housing programs and $40 billion to renovate and repair existing public housing. 

“I just believe that in the quote unquote richest nation in the world that people should not sleep on the street, and that people who live in public housing should not have to come to me and tell me how bad it is every day, or be afraid for their children to play outside, or to live with mold or lead,” Fudge said. “This is not the country that should allow that to happen. I want to be on the side of success, of change, of vision.”

Ashley Balcerzak is a reporter in the New Jersey Statehouse. For unlimited access to her work covering New Jersey’s Legislature and political power structure, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: balcerzaka@northjersey.com 

Twitter: @abalcerzak