City of East Providence receives RI Office of Healthy Aging Grant Award

East Providence, RI – The City of East Providence was awarded a grant from the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging to expand its public health workforce within the aging and disability networks.

The $91,500 grant will be used to hire a part-time community health worker who will work out of the Robert Rock Senior Center in East Providence.

The community health worker will conduct a wide range of public health services and support for older adults and adults with disabilities and their caregivers, to access a number of services including COVID-19 vaccines, boosters, and testing, transition and diversion services from high-risk congregate settings to community living, and activities that address social isolation and social determinants of health.

“We are so very thankful to the Rhode Island Office of Healthy Aging for selecting the Robert Rock Senior Center as the recipient of this grant award,” Mayor Bob DaSilva said. “The addition of a community health worker will allow our senior center to provide the additional and much-needed services that our senior population deserves.”

“This grant will not only enable us to hire a community health worker to support older adults, adults with disabilities and their caregivers, but it will enable us to assist those residents who are hard to reach and from diverse backgrounds,” Senior Services Director Laura Jones said.

The grant opportunity is being funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021(ARPA) as part of ongoing COVID-19 response efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to recruit, hire, and train public health workers to respond to the pandemic and prepare for future public health challenges.

To Apply for the Community Health Worker position, please visit: https://eastprovidenceri.gov/jobs