New Brunswick’s small businesses, like many around the country, have been hard-hit by the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the mom-and-pop, women- and minority-owned businesses that populate areas like the Esperanza Neighborhood, learning how to reduce COVID-19 risks is now an additional challenge as they try to keep the lights on.

With this in mind, New Brunswick Tomorrow has partnered with Rutgers Global Health Institute to implement the “Equitable Small Business Recovery Program .” This program, which launched in December, supports our local small businesses in the Esperanza Neighborhood and throughout New Brunswick as they work to keep their customers and workers healthy and safe during the pandemic.

The program consists of an initial 90-minute training webinar, followed by individualized consultations with participating businesses. Together, these pieces help business owners understand best practices for safe operations and apply them to their own unique circumstances. For example, many participating businesses so far have been unaware of the risks of poor ventilation or new rules around employee health screenings. Ultimately, this support and guidance help reduce community transmission and protect the residents and workers of our community, who have suffered so much during the pandemic.

In this partnership, Rutgers Global Health Institute developed the program concept and provides the health expertise, while NBT, through our Esperanza Neighborhood Project, conducts outreach to businesses and offers input to ensure the content is relevant to the needs of our local businesses. The program is continually adapted to reflect the newest science as well as participant feedback.

So far, 23 businesses have participated in the virtual training, and five of those businesses have taken part in individual follow-up consultations.

As one participating business owner stated, “In order to stop the spread of the virus, we have to work together to make that happen.”

If you represent a business that wishes to learn best practices for health and safety during the pandemic, register at go.rutgers.edu/covidhelp.

The next English-language webinar is Thursday, 3/4 at 7:00 pm. Dates are continually updated as new webinars are scheduled.