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A recent grant from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) will help add a mobilized logistics support unit to the repertoire of Buckingham County Emergency Services, creating a more equitable approach to combating COVID-19 in the county.

According to Buckingham Emergency Services Director Cody Davis, the supplemental emergency management planning grant was awarded to Buckingham and other localities that were observed to have a large at-risk or underserved population of residents.

VDEM awarded Buckingham with the $24,804 grant contingent on a local match of the same dollar amount.

The Buckingham Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the match, which can be paid using CARES Act funds, at the Feb. 8 board meeting.

Davis said the grant must be utilized for an initiative that will create a more equitable approach to fighting the pandemic in the county, something which facilitates outreach to those in underserved and at-risk communities.

In talking with peers, Davis and his team were inspired by Prince Edward County to use the money to purchase a mobilized logistics support unit.

Davis said the unit, once purchased and outfitted, will be an enclosed trailer which would hold tables, chairs, pop-up canopies, heaters, generators, etc. to allow emergency workers to go to rural parts of the county and set up shop to possibly distribute personal protective equipment (PPE) or offer testing or vaccinations if those resources are presented to the county.