Kira Kay:

Maine health officials say they chose social services agencies “…as the fastest avenue to get funding out the door and into affected communities.” But in mid July, acknowledged concerns about “…adequacy and inclusiveness…”

On July 30, Governor Janet Mills announced $1 million in new funding, specifically for community-led organizations, to “…help reduce the disproportionately large racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 in Maine.”

In Lewiston, local groups didn’t wait for help from the state and created their own task force early on to serve their community, including handing out masks to local businesses to share with customers.

And organizing for a one-day, walk-in testing clinic run by a health center in the heart of the city’s immigrant neighborhood. On a sweltering day in late July, 64 people came to get tested, including Abdirabi and his 3-year-old son. They also got precious hand sanitizer and masks.