Hebrews 12:15 (“See to it that no one misses the grace of God.”) has been at the heart of Grace’s mission since before we opened. The uncertainty and fear of a global pandemic provided an unusual avenue to put those words into action.
As the COVID-19 vaccines were beginning to roll out, Grace was not on the Department of Health’s radar as a potential community vaccine pop-up site. Our CEO, Stephanie Garris, was adamant about getting the vaccines for our patient population and the community and she pursued her DOH contacts to determine the process of confirming site locations. Stephanie said, “Once we explained who our patients were and how vulnerable they were, Grace was immediately approved to be a Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic site. In fact – our first one was just days after our first conversation.”
The initial clinic occurred the first week all adult Floridians were eligible to get vaccinated and the line for recipients wrapped around our building by 7:30 am.
“Because the clinics were open to all members of our community, it was a great opportunity to minister to those in line and to share Grace’s mission,” said Pastor Omar Cardona, Grace’s Mission Integration Director.
“I just love when I get to interact with patients, no matter the circumstances,” said longtime Spiritual Care Ambassador and mental health counselor, Laurin Cash. “No one likes waiting in line, right? I approached it as ‘what can I do to make waiting in line more comfortable?’ It was fun to be outside and say ‘hi.’ I felt like there were so many people who were weary at first. Once they realized you were there as a friend, their demeanor changed and they opened up. This was a unique vehicle to minister to others.”
Grace was the site for three FEMA COVID-19 Pop-Up Vaccination Clinics where more than 600 people in our community got vaccinated.
“Grace will continue to seek out opportunities to ensure that no one misses the grace of God,” said Omar.
