I was not in attendance at the first meeting of CATCH-UP Oklahoma because I knew nothing about the program. It was because of the kindness and concern of Ms. Barbara Colbert that reached out to me and asked if I was aware of the program before it was too late for us to take part in it. I felt left out because the community or area we serve is low income and mostly elderly. Once I started reading the information, I could imagine in my mind that here was a great opportunity for us to get deeper involved in the community and help bring needed services to a stricken area. After talking with Ms. Laura Ross, I felt excited about working with CATCH-UP Oklahoma because she is a motivator and very passionate about what she do. It was not long that my understanding of the program grew and so did the passion. I am an advocate for the wellbeing of the elderly and also little children. those two classes of individuals are the most vulnerable in our society and we as a community need to do everything we can to help them and make sure they are not taken advantage of. Many times our elderly are sick and we don’t know it.
The CATCH-UP Oklahoma program has helped us meet others in the community by providing needed services. Going through this program has helped in several ways. First and foremost is the availability locally for the community and Church members to receive free COVID-19 testing services. There is a greater level of trust the community have in the local Health Department because they have seen us work together through this program. All of the testing and other services we host are held at the Church’s Family Life Center. It is designed where we can host site for lectures, meetings, classes, banquets, testing, vaccinations, cooking sessions, etc. The Family Life Center was built with the community in mind. Therefore, programs such as CATCH-UP Oklahoma fit very well with our mission – “Helping the Community.” I knew that this program was too much for any one person to handle, so after I felt comfortable in my understanding of the impact that COVID-19 was having on people locally, nationally, and internationally, I began to engage members in the Church’s congregation to join in the discussions of how we, Redeemed Missionary Baptist Church, could make a positive impact in our community. In the matter of a couple of weeks, we had thirteen (13) volunteers who wanted to work on the team to help combat COVID-19. The Team is made up of women and men. We would hold most of our meeting via ZOOM calls but occasionally we would face-to-face where we could safely social distance while brainstorming ideals for preparing to host a COVID-19 Testing Site. I am extremely proud of our Team because they take this work very serious and we have fun preparing and during the hosting event. One can easily see the love and compassion the Team members have for the people who come and receive the services. That is because the Lord has blessed us to show that same love for one another. We believe in helping others!
When we were getting ready to host our first event, we were all tensed-up because it was our first time and we did not know fully what to expect. We had taken out a full page in the local newspaper, paid to have the event broadcasted on the radio and put up a couple of signs on Kelly Avenue. On the day of the first hosting event, those who were going to be performing the testing cornered Laura with question after question after question, asking the same questions that were asked two days prior, while on a Zoom call with Laura. It was a little funny because I could see how nervous they were. Then the Big One happened, our first person arrived to receive the COVID-19 test. All of a sudden there were four people at the vehicle, three of them had assigned duties and the fourth person was observing because they were next to perform the test. Once they got a few people tested, they were calm and ready to handle whatever came our way. We did not have many people to come during our first event and some of the Team members felt disappointed. That’s when Ms. Ross stepped in and began to give words of encouragement and it certainly lifted the spirits of those who felt disappointed. I remember so vividly when she said “you all did good; this is your first time; some groups hosted their first testing site and no one came. Your next one will be better!” After a week or so, the Team got together to discuss “Things Gone Right” and “Things gone Wrong” from the first hosting. Everyone was engaged in the discussion and there were changes instituted for the next hosting event. Communication was key! We decided not to broadcast on the radio because no one ever heard the event broadcasted leading up to the event. We actually ran a full page ad in the local newspaper for two weeks instead of one and I tried to encourage people to be tested by having weekly announcements made during Church services. Furthermore, instead of just having a couple of signs on Kelly Avenue, we had six and we also put signs on two other streets that are along our hosting site, Dr. LR Drinkwater Family Life Center, 2116 N. Stonewall, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111. The second time we hosted the COVID-19 Testing Site, we had over twenty people to come and be tested. We were happy and very pleased with the increased turnout.
The CATCH-UP Oklahoma program is a successful program where we could immediately see the positive impact it had on this community. Unfortunately, there is a trend when less people are getting tested because they see the reports that the number of COVID cases are dropping and they are letting their guard down, even though they experience some of the COVID symptoms. We will continue to partner with OCCHD with this and other programs that add value to the citizens of our community, city, state, and country.