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DPH details neighborhood equity strategy and $5.2 million community funding for testing and care
Summary
DPH presenters outlined an equity‑focused approach to testing, case investigation and vaccine outreach targeting Latinx, Black and API communities and described $5.2 million in community prevention and care funding allocated by neighborhood tiers.
DPH equity and neighborhood leads presented the department's community-centered COVID response to the San Francisco Health Commission, describing targeted testing, multilingual outreach and a funding package to support community organizations.
Isela Ford (District 9/Latinx lead), Nyesha Underwood (population equity liaison) and Melinda Martin (API lead) summarized work in neighborhoods with persistently high positivity and death rates. Staff said they use city case and demographic data (snapshot pulled Jan. 22) to prioritize neighborhoods and design culturally and linguistically appropriate services, including pop‑up testing, translated educational materials and community wellness teams to support people who test positive.
Underwood described partnerships in Black neighborhoods—Bayview, Sunnydale, OMI/Lakeview—and reported routine testing events and a pilot neighborhood vaccination event at the Bayview Opera House. The presenters said DPH released $5.2 million in COVID prevention, mitigation and care funds in November 2020: approximately $4.8 million for community outreach and care activities and about $450,000 for a community-based training center to prepare organizations for case investigation and contact tracing. Funding tiers were allocated by neighborhood positivity: tier 1 (e.g., Bayview, Sunnydale, Excelsior) received higher allocations; tier 3 (e.g., Chinatown) received smaller allocations.
Melinda Martin highlighted sustained outreach in Chinatown—weekly pop‑up testing at Portsmouth Square and partnership with Chinese Hospital—and efforts to provide staff and interpretation on site. Ford emphasized tailored strategies for indigenous Mayan language speakers and other populations whose needs require in‑language services.
Commissioners praised the presentation and asked staff to continue reporting progress and to provide clear public communication about neighborhood‑based vaccine access. The commission did not take funding action at the meeting; presenters said the $5.2 million funding round had already been announced and was being deployed through community partners.
