LIHC Investment Group Partners with State Representative Jon Santiago to Bring COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic to Concord Houses
BOSTON (April 1, 2021)— LIHC Investment Group joined Massachusetts State Representative Jon Santiago today to bring a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic to Concord Houses in the South End as part of the Get Out the Vaccine (GOTVax) initiative to ensure vaccine equity and access for Boston’s most vulnerable residents.
“As one of the few remaining affordable communities in the South End, we are proud to partner with Rep. Santiago to provide vaccines to those who are most at-risk or who may otherwise have difficulty traveling beyond their home,” said Andrew Gendron, Principal, LIHC Investment Group. “We are grateful to Rep. Santiago, the South End Community Health Center and Mascon Medical for bringing this initiative to our residents’ doorsteps and helping everyone feel comfortable getting vaccinated.”
“Vaccine equity must be the cornerstone of our vaccination administration efforts and I am grateful to partner with LIHC to continue vaccinating our disabled, elderly, and low-income neighbors,” said State Representative Jon Santiago, who represents the South End in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. “By working with LIHC, the South End Community Health Center, and Mascon Medical, we can ensure that our most at-risk and hardest to reach residents have access to the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Unique in its approach, the GOTVax effort applies traditional techniques of community organizing to bolster vaccine administration, including text banking, phone banking, and door-to-door canvassing. Volunteers from Harvard Medical School and student groups called and texted residents at Concord Houses ahead of time to let them know about the pop-up clinic, and also knocked on doors. The vaccines were provided by the South End Community Health Center and administered by Mascon Medical.
As of today, the program has brought vaccinations to more than 350 people at low-income and senior housing developments throughout Boston. Spanning two buildings located at 715-725 Tremont Street in the heart of the South End, Concord Houses is a critical source of income-restricted housing that serves those making less than 80 percent area median income (AMI).
In 2019, LIHC Investment Group secured a landmark deal with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to reinstate the property’s affordability restrictions after they expired two years prior. The agreement, which was achieved with the support of former Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Housing Authority, guarantees the property’s long-term affordability for at least the next 40 years.
Download the press release (pdf)
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