Community Connections Consulting Services, LLC, in partnership with the City of Wichita, invites those who live, work, or play in the city to their “Facts Not Fear ICT” kickoff celebration on Thurs., Nov. 18, 5 p.m. at the Mid-America All-Indian Museum located at 650 N. Seneca in Wichita, Kansas.
The celebration will highlight what’s to come for the campaign, which received a $4 million grant to improve health among underserved minority communities in the city that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted.
“This award is absolutely about the community and community engagement. So we wanted to not just announce to the community through a press release that the funds have been secured. We wanted to involve, engage and celebrate with the community,” said Angeline F. Johnson, Community Connections Consulting Services CEO and FactsNotFearICT Project Administrator.
The FactsNotFearICT campaign will educate residents about COVID-19 while slowing the spread of the virus in the African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and Native American communities. The program will utilize community facilitators responsible for engaging community members and developing targeted health literacy efforts in their respective communities.
Throughout 2020, the Wichita Black Alliance, a cohort of Wichita-based organizations, faith-based entities, and community members, concentrated on slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Wichita’s African-American community. During that time, the #FactsNotFear campaign distributed masks, connected families to food resources and mental health services, distributed COVID-19 health literature, and hosted a series of informative virtual town hall meetings. Those town halls included urban health professionals, educators, and community members.
The campaign also included commercials, featuring Wichita-based urban podcasters, influencers, and community members, which aired on local television stations.
Johnson says the $4 million grant will allow the continuation of that effort and empower other minority groups to be a part of creating health literacy initiatives that are culturally sensitive and resonate within their respective communities.
In early August, The Wichita City Council accepted the two-year grant totaling $4 million to support efforts to improve health literacy, address health disparities and improve health outcomes among racial and ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities. The grant titled “Advancing Health Literacy to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to Covid-19” is being administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health (OMH).
Community Connections Consulting Services, LLC (also known as C3S) is the sub-recipient of the grant, meaning they’re responsible for identifying, managing, and building processes to utilize the funds effectively.
C3S is a boutique consulting firm that provides one-on-one support to governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities whose mission aligns with making a marked difference in urban communities throughout the United States. Angeline and C3S collaborated with the City of Wichita to secure funding for a community-wide expansion of Wichita Black Alliance’s #FactsNotFear campaign, which launched in 2020.
Attendees will also get a chance to show their support of the Facts Not Fear ICT campaign by taking a photo in front of the campaign’s photo backdrop. Additionally, a “big announcement” will take place that promises to bring empowerment to Wichita’s minority communities to stop the devastating impacts of Covid-19. Those in attendance will be encouraged to wear a mask and to socially distance themselves.
The kickoff event will be live-streamed on the campaign Facebook page via @factsnotfearict.