{"id":5084136,"date":"2020-10-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/stronger-than-covid-educates-and-brings-communities-together\/"},"modified":"2020-10-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T04:00:00","slug":"stronger-than-covid-educates-and-brings-communities-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2020\/10\/07\/stronger-than-covid-educates-and-brings-communities-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Stronger than COVID educates and brings communities together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As concerns over the coronavirus grew, the department of consumer affairs knew it had to take a hard look at how people were getting their information, but more importantly whether the information was being understood.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe knew there was a large population of non-English speaking people who live in the state and Hartford, \u201c said Catherine Blinder, chief of education and outreach for the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. \u201cBut just translating into the language sometimes doesn\u2019t have an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department was aware it needed to get out important health and safety information to the public, she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith COVID, it was clear we all had to come together to educate people,\u201d Blinder said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was how the \u201cStronger than COVID\u201d campaign was born. The campaign runs through the end of October.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The department decided to focus on the three most spoken languages, after English, in the state. It was decided to create a campaign that would be widely distributed in Spanish, Portuguese and Polish.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most campaigns of this type that feature state government officials or politicians, often don\u2019t have the desired result, Blinder said. In order for the campaign to work and achieve the desired results, the campaign had to reach these communities, she said. And the best way to do this was to feature people who were well known in the communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The campaign was made possible with support from the Governor\u2019s office, the Department of Public Health and money from the federal government, said Max Reiss, communications director for the Office of Governor Ned Lamont.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The campaign consists of videos that are being shown on social media, ads in local community newspapers and radio spots.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"http:\/\/ctln.local\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/RPReplay_Final1602078733.mov\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/vimeo.com\/452232501\/566542b731\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spanish-language video<\/a>, hits on key areas of protection against COVID-19 \u2014 washing your hands, wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and getting tested. The printed ads feature different people who are well-known in the different ethnic communities. The ad prominently displays the words \u201cJuntos Somos Mas Fuertes Que El COVID-19.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br \/>\u201cAt the beginning of the pandemic, when we were figuring out how to communicate with people, we realized the need to reach directly to the communities,\u201d Reiss said. \u201cWe needed to make sure we were reaching every single corner of Connecticut.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, Reiss said, they all realized they needed a lot of professional help to accomplish this.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That led to working with local partners \u2014 both community members and agencies \u2014 to develop a plan that would reach all residents.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s so gratifying, people are responding positively to the campaign,\u201d Blinder said. \u201cPutting up posters and people recognize the person and they say, that\u2019s someone from my community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reiss agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken to local community folks and they\u2019re very happy to see the direct community outreach,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The government, he said, understands that you cannot have a one-size fits all campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have wonderful people in Connecticut who speak different languages and come from different walks of life,\u201d Reiss said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the campaign also highlighted something for those who work in the government.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt also says we need to rethink our method of communications,\u201d Reiss said. \u201cIf we\u2019re not speaking to these communities in their language, then we are failing.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Added Blinder, \u201cThe campaign was impactful and effective. It came down to people feeling seen and respected.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the campaign is scheduled to run through the end of the month, Reiss said they are hoping to get additional funding for a new round of ads.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A new campaign would likely focus on the COVID-19 vaccine as well as influenza.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe can\u2019t just tell people \u2018Get the vaccine,\u2019 we need to explain what it is,\u2019 Reiss said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a meeting held on Oct. 1, Binder said they discussed the impact of the campaign and its effectiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe know it\u2019s working and it\u2019s important to continue to ride the success of this,\u201d Blinder said.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Publisher&#8217;s Note: CTLN is a recipient of the  \u201cStronger than COVID\u201d advertising sponsorship.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Multilingual campaign reflects diversity of people being affected<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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