Danville’s NAACP chapter has been awarded several thousand dollars in grant money to support COVID-19 efforts.
The local branch was recently awarded $205,000 from the Illinois Public Health Association. Money will be used to implement a new Pandemic Health Navigator Program, under which the local NAACP will hire and train staff members to deliver services to Danville’s neediest residents.
Local NAACP President Ed Butler says that the state is counting on his organization to make successful connections with minorities and underrepresented groups in Danville. Trained staff members will be working to connect residents to a wide range of services that they might be missing out on, including COVID testing, vaccinations and food and medicine.
The navigator program is being run through October, and Butler says the trained staff could find it easier to land a permanent healthcare job in the future due to their experience. Butler is serving as the executive director for the program, with Mary Ann McCullough as a supervisor.
