The Sheffield Community Champion Project, co-ordinated by SOAR and funded by Sheffield City Council, works alongside 8 community organisations. The Community Champions are supporting their communities by:
Listening to your questions and concerns
Sharing correct Covid-19 & Vaccine information
Helping people access services, such as vaccine clinics, testing sites and other health or community services
Read on to hear feedback and stories from the fantastic community organisations involved across Sheffield.
One community member from Firvale Community Hub said: “I didn’t know I had a Community Champion living next door. It’s an amazing project and I trust this person as I have known them years. They told me about the vaccine and encouraged that I take up the appointment for myself, my family, and my community. When people have seen me and asked me, knowing that I am not confident in having any vaccination, it has encouraged others to do so.”
Aspiring Communities Together (ACT):
We run Zumba sessions for older women at ACT’s women’s only gym. One of our Champions came across a lady who was in her late sixties and was refusing the idea of a vaccination, her granddaughter is one of our volunteers and explained that her grandmother fears the virus but refuses to take the vaccine because she was scared.
A Champion sat with her and went through the reasons why it is important to take the vaccination, and listened to her reasons which were mainly due to false media and WhatsApp group messages. Our worker shared flyers with her going through it and answering her questions. She finally agreed to let her granddaughter arrange for her to have it done with assurance that she will be checked on daily until she feels safe.
Sharrow Community Forum:
Hina spoke to a woman she knew over tea, the conversation turned to Covid vaccinations. Hina explained that she had already received her first one and the woman expressed concern about having hers as she was worried about the side-effects. Hina explained that it is our responsibility to ourselves and each other to look after our well-being and that by having the vaccine we are helping to protect our families. The woman agreed and subsequently had the vaccination.
Afterwards Hina spoke to her again and she reported experiencing no side effects at all, and was so encouraged that she would be telling others to have the vaccine when offered too.
You can find out more about the Community Champions project here.
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