BROOKLYN — A local soup kitchen and women’s shelter in Brooklyn is looking to help its clients cope with the pandemic in a way that goes beyond serving them food.

“I feel the Band-Aid right about here. She did it real quick. Nice and easy!” said Hector Silva, after he received the COVID-19 vaccine at a mobile vaccination bus in Park Slope.

For Silva, who has been homeless for more than five years, getting vaccinated against COVID-19 had not been high on his list of priorities. After hearing that a mobile vaccination unit was being set up for just one day, only a block away from a Park Slope soup kitchen where he often receives lunch, he decided it was time to roll up his sleeve.

"I’m feeling OK!" said Silva. When asked if he was relieved to get it done, he replied, "Yes, because now when they bother me, you haven’t got the shot, you haven’t got the shot. I can say yes I did, and I got proof.”

Shivonne McKay, the executive director for Community Help in Park Slope, better known as CHiPS, a soup kitchen and women’s shelter, said her organization often distributes about 200 meals a day to clients in need. 

After learning that many clients had not yet been vaccinated, McKay's team reached out to the mayor’s office and agreed to host a mobile vaccination bus that would make it convenient for customers to receive food and get vaccinated with the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine in a single visit.

“We took a soft poll of our guests that we serve and folks said they were interested," said McKay. "They just didn’t know where to go, so we said we’re going to bring the resource to you, and that’s how it all came about.”

Errie Lowe and several other clients who were waiting for the soup kitchen to distribute lunch said while they appreciate the convenience, they were not interested in getting the shot anytime soon. Lowe said due to the quick rollout of the vaccine, he’d prefer to wait a year until enough research is collected on possible long-term side effects.

“I’m pretty sure no one wants to hurt nobody," Lowe said. "But I just would like to think you do a lot more looking and searching before you dish it out.”

To help put things in perspective, a city spokesperson tells NY1 that thanks to efforts that include mobile vaccination units, more than 12,000 clients and staff members with the city’s Department or Homeless Services are now fully vaccinated.