COVID-19 Racial Equity & Community Engagement
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Advancing racial and health equity and effective community engagement is an integral part of Ramsey County's COVID-19 response. The Racial Equity and Community Engagement Response Team (RECERT) was formed in April 2020 to help inform the county's response and provide critical links between county operations and the residents we serve.
About RECERT
Learn about the team's rationale, focus areas, structure and membership
Weekly summaries
Each week of the COVID-19 response, RECERT publishes a written report with the following:
- Updates on work tasks during the past week that relate to the team’s areas of focus.
- Create a proposal of work for the week ahead that relates to the team’s areas of focus, with descriptions for how the team will work with the Incident Management Team and the rest of Ramsey County to make progress on each work task.
- Highlight areas of significant community concern that will require attention.
- Outline areas of progress that provide opportunities for future momentum.
Archive
Summaries are available in PDF format.
- Racial Equity and Community Engagement Team update three - approved for the period of May 15-29
- Racial Equity and Community Engagement Team update two - approved for the period of April 27-May 4
- Racial Equity and Community Engagement Team update one - approved for the period of April 20-27
Materials from virtual town halls
A series of virtual community meetings were held by the county May 11-19 to share an overview of COVID-19 services and answer community questions.
Housing stability services and response - May 19
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 0k%9?FI&
Employment programs and assistance - May 18
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 3s^%938?
Community Corrections response and services - May 18
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Town hall meeting notes (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 2v*Ds^7$
Contractor and provider services - May 15
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Town hall meeting notes (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 3Y=!6#0a
Public Health's response and services - May 14
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Town hall meeting notes (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 9V+05LO8
Veterans Services: Benefits and health care - May 13
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Town hall meeting notes (PDF)
- Archived video of meeting (YouTube)
- COVID-19 Assistance for Veterans flyer (PDF)
Crisis, mental health and emotional services - May 12
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Town hall meeting notes (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 9R+.?@9^
Emergency assistance and general assistance - May 11
- Overview slides (PDF)
- Town hall meeting notes (PDF)
- Archived Zoom video of meeting - password required to view: 2k$5dB.@
Information and resources
Information
- COVID-19 health inequities impact on Minnesota's Black and Hispanic residents (Pioneer Press)
- COVID-19 affects on Black people (News One)
- Racial wealth gap and the COVID-19 pandemic (Center for American Progress)
- Xenophobia (NPR News)
- Minnesota, racial inequality and coronavirus (Star Tribune / MSN News)
- Coronavirus impact on Native Americans (Washington Post)
- The census and racial disparities (MinnPost)
- MN DEED addressing racial disparities amid COVID-19 (Mshale)
- White privilege and COVID-19 (Star Tribune)
- COVID-19 Real Talk series (Urban Leage Twin Cities)
- Ensuring racial equity during COVID homeless response (National Alliance to End Homelessness)
- Centering race equity during COVID response (Independent Sector)
- COVID-19's threat to Native American communities (Johns Hopkins School of Public Health)
- COVID-19: A conversation with U.S. Indigenous leaders (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
- Confronting xenophobia (Massachusetts General Hospital)
- United against hate: Discussion on anti-Asian racism (NBC News)
Resources
- League of Minnesota Cities race equity resource
- NAACP: Ten COVID-19 equity considerations (PDF)
- Government Alliance on Racial Equity (GARE): COVID-19 racial equity rapid response
- Racialequitytools.org: COVID-19 resources
- Center for Urban and Racial Equity: Equitable response to COVID-19
Contact Us
Sara Hollie, MPH
Racial & Health Equity Administrator
651-262-3119
Prince Corbett, MPA
Racial & Health Equity Administrator
612-430-0897