about us

It is a minority operated non-profit that is located at 104 Lakeside St., Knoxville, TN. It has operated since 2017 as an organization under the fiscal responsibility of CONNECT Ministries (3615 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave., Knoxville, Tennessee). New Direction has since established itself as a chartered operational non-profit in the state of Tennessee and has its 501(c) (3) status. New Direction has a board of directors and an advisory committee that supports the work of the agency.

New Direction W.R.I.T.E. Manual

VACImpact

VACImpact is an educational initiative created to inform, engage and build a trust wall in communities of color regarding the importance of taking the COVID-19 Vaccine. The key approach is to assist people in making decisions that moves the needle from “No to Maybe to Yes” regarding taking a vaccine. Through a series of partnerships, New Direction Health Care Solutions will serve as the project manager for a vaccine distribution initiative. VACImpact is the project name.

VACImpact will focus on rural hard to reach communities. With an aggressive educational outreach concept about the vaccine, the goal is to encourage voluntary participation in taking the COVID-19 vaccine, by being informed. The project’s platform is to develop a belief that the COVID-19 vaccine is “Safe and will combat the spread of the virus throughout the community and the country. VACImpact’s goal is to create a message that the community will “Trust”. Therefore, the constant message is

“VACImpact: A Message You Can Trust. Moving the Needle from No to Maybe to Yes!”

1

Mobilize.

Mobilize teams of workers, volunteers, partners to host vaccine clinic

2

Community Outreach

Develop a community outreach campaign with messaging and information

3

Community Engagement

Create workgroups & focus groups to survey what is the hesitancy of taking vaccine

4

Door to Door

Do door-to-door canvassing throughout the communities.

New Direction Staff

Cynthia Finch

Founder, President
LMSW, CCM, CMCE

Deborah Porter

Compliance Officer

Robin Whitmore

Executive Administrator

Jackie Collins

Volunteer Coordinator

Anna Dirl

Director Faith and Health Initiative

Marvin Espy

Logistics Manager

Denise Jackson

Anchor Project Opioid Treatment

Rementa Dockery

Nurse & Medical

Tabace Burns

Nurse & Medical

Dr. Ken Taylor

New Direction Medical Advisor

Our Partners

Faith Leaders Church Initiative

At the beginning of the Covid Pandemic, New Direction Health Care Solutions and CONNECT Ministries formed the Faith Leaders Initiative.

On April 27, 2020, a call was made regarding reopening houses of worship.
On May 1, 2020, a conference call invitation was sent to pastors all over the city to discuss the Pandemic. Cynthia J. Finch, Gwen McKenzie, and Dr. Keith Gray led the discussion.

Workbook To Re-Opening Your Church Building

The purpose of this, “WORKBOOK TO RE-OPENING A CHURCH BUILDING—A Faith-Based Approach,” is to help churches re-open with the three P’s in place: PLAN, PREPARE and PRAY. Through effective and efficient planning, a church can rebuild a level of trust with its members. Knowing that a “plan” is in place removes the unknown and can serve as guidance to the church membership in returning to church. This guide can also “prepare” a church to develop a step-by-step action plan that identifies all operational functions of the church. And lastly, the church has, as its foundation, the ability to “pray” through good and difficult times. This pandemic, COVID-19, has forced the church to leave its buildings and rely on faith to sustain and guide it through these difficult times. As churches re-open, this manuscript encourages its members to follow and consider the guidelines outlined in this workbook. These are considerations, not mandates. The churches should follow the guidance set out by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and state and local authorities, including the health department.

Workbook To Re-Opening Your Church Building (Spring 2020)

Vaccine Event?

ENGAGEMENT REQUEST