- Credibility:
PILSEN — An initiative aimed at helping residents protect themselves from coronavirus is offering free COVID-19 testing Monday in Pilsen.
We Got Us, a collaborative of South and West side organizing groups, and disaster response nonprofit Core Response are offering free COVID-19 testing 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday at Healthy Hood, 2242 S. Damen Ave.
No appointment, identification or insurance are required to get tested.
Since their launch, We Got Us has hosted pop-up community grocery pickups at the Museum of Science and Industry, and in Austin, Jefferson Park, Cottage Grove, Pilsen and Humboldt Park.
Tanya Lozano, founder of Pilsen-based Healthy Hood, previously told Block Club that We Got Us aims to meet short-term needs in historically underserved communities where the rates of coronavirus infection are high but resources can be difficult to find.
Black and Brown communities have been overwhelmed by the coronavirus outbreak. In April, city officials said more than 70 percent of people who have died from coronavirus in Chicago were Black.
Belmont Cragin, Little Village, West Lawn and Brighton Park, all Latino neighborhoods, had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state of Illinois.
Communities of color were already combating systemic health disparities before the outbreak, but the virus has brought those inequities front and center, Lozano said.
While We Got Us looks to serve an immediate need for people in the South and West Sides, Lozano said the ultimate goal is to fix the “broken system” that has resulted in health inequities that continue to harm Black and Brown communities.
Individuals looking to volunteer can sign up here.
People who need help can call the We Got Us COVID hotline at 773-839-9782.
Block Club Chicago’s coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.
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