Barbara Lee

Barbara Lee Applauds 2nd Round of Workforce Funding from COVID Community Care Act Legislation

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) applauded the announcement that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will be awarding $121 million to 127 award recipients of the Local Community-Based Workforce to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Access Program.

Published

3 years ago

July 31, 2021

Christy Price

Barbara Lee

Announced on July 27, these awards are funded with resources from provisions within the American Rescue Plan Act that Lee led through her COVID Community Care Act. This reflects the second of two funding opportunities announced in May 2021 for community-based efforts to hire and mobilize community outreach workers, community health workers, social support specialists, and others to increase vaccine access for the hardest-hit and highest-risk communities through high-touch, on-the-ground outreach to educate and assist individuals in getting the information they need about vaccinations.

The first round of funding, which was administered in June, included an $11 million award to the Public Health Institute in Oakland and a $9.5 million award to the Association of Asian/Pacific Community Health Organizations in Berkeley. Three Oakland based organizations, the Public Health Institute, Women Organized to Respond to Life-Threatening Diseases, and Safe Passages, are recipients of this round of funding, bringing the total funding brought to organizations in CA-13 to nearly $23 million.

“We are facing another inflection point in this pandemic. We must make meaningful investments in getting everyone vaccinated—especially communities of color and medically underserved communities,” said Lee. “I worked hard in Congress to invest in trusted messengers at the community level to build confidence in vaccines and COVID-19 prevention efforts. This is a much-needed continuation of that work, and we’ll see over a million dollars of investment on the ground in our own East Bay community.

“Our Tri-Caucus – the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, and Native American member Congresswoman Sharice Davids, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone, Education and Labor Committee Chair Bobby Scott and Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro deserve credit for their hard work and support in getting this across the finish line in the American Rescue Plan. We can see that the work of House Democrats is making a real-life impact on the ground for communities. This is an important step, but we must continue our work to dismantle systemic racism in our public health system and ensure that vaccines are equitably and adequately distributed.”

The purpose of this program is to establish, expand, and sustain a public health workforce to prevent, prepare for, and respond to COVID-19. This includes mobilizing community outreach workers, which includes community health workers, patient navigators, and social support specialists to educate and assist individuals in accessing and receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.

This includes activities such as conducting face-to-face outreach and reaching out directly to community members to educate them about the vaccine, assisting individuals in making a vaccine appointment, providing resources to find convenient vaccine locations, assisting individuals with transportation or other needs to get to a vaccination site.

Christy Price

Posts by Christy Price

Up Next

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Celebrates Birthday at Mills College

Don't Miss

Where Do Negotiations Go Now After A’s “Howard Terminal” or Bust Ultimatum?

Christy Price

Click to comment

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Rep. Barbara Lee, CBC Members, Raise Concerns Over Layoffs of Black Tech Workersi2s

In 2015, the CBC launched Tech 2020 to ensure that Black Americans would be better represented in the industry by 2020. However, Lee says those tech companies that pledged to be more inclusive are falling short of their promise.

Published

4 months ago

December 26, 2023

Oakland Post

Rep. Barbara Lee

By Post Staff

Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee and several other Congressional Black Caucus members have written a letter to Julie Su, the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, addressing the disproportionate layoffs of Black tech employees.

“We write to express our concerns with recent reports highlighting the impacts of widespread layoffs within the tech industry and its disproportionate impacts on the African American community and women,” the letter stated.

“Tech companies who previously agreed to address bias and discrimination and create greater opportunities in the workforce are now quietly defunding diversity pledges,” the letter continued.

Lee told the Grio, “We’ve been fighting for justice and for economic parity and security as part of the mission of the CBC,” she said, “and so when we established Tech 2020, it was about equity and inclusion.”

“Now with all the Supreme Court decisions and with all of the backsliding, especially by Republicans, it’s very important that we be very assertive in our fight for equity and justice within the private sector and public sector,” she said.

According to the letter, since the beginning of 2023, more than 240,000 tech workers have been laid off, more than 50% increase from 2022.

Lee found that minorities and women make up most of the tech layoffs that have occurred this year.

“If you don’t have African Americans developing content,” Lee said, “then we’re going to have Black people, Brown people [and] women disproportionately impacted.”

“This country is supposed to be a representative democracy where you include people, and you don’t discriminate against them,” she added. “When you see the disproportionate numbers of people being laid off, then that is a red flag that it could be discrimination occurring against these workers and employees.”

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Congresswoman Lee Releases Statement on Vandalism of Lake Merritt Menorah

Published

4 months ago

December 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Chabad of Oakland’s menorah at Lake Merritt on Dec. 10, before it was vandalized (right) and graffiti left where the menorah stood before it was pulled down. (Photos/Courtesy Chabad of Oakland)

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) released the following statement on the destruction of the large Menorah on display at Lake Merritt in Oakland:

“I’m deeply saddened and disheartened that the Lake Merritt Menorah was destroyed earlier this week. My heart and prayers go out to the Jewish community in Oakland, and I strongly condemn this vile act of antisemitism.”

“Oaklanders salvaged the menorah and gathered together (Wednesday evening) to celebrate its re-lighting, spreading love and support in the way only Oakland does. I’m proud of my constituents. We will not let hate win.”