September 07, 2012
LACE at the Alley Health Fair
By
Michelle Reid
This past Thursday, September 6th, a team of fabulous LACE volunteers joined other service providers, community organizations and health groups for the Alley Health Fair, an annual event to promote healthy living possibilities among Downtown Eastside (DTES) residents! In the Vancouver DTES, many low-income residents lack access to health services, which is why we were glad for the opportunity to promote life-saving preventative Pap tests to the women living in the neighbourhood! This was our second year at the Alley Health Fair and we were fortunate to have great weather and even greater volunteers from UBC to make it a huge success!
Our wonderful doughnut sponsor, Cartems Donuterie, provided LACE volunteers with tempting and educational treats (a doughnut provides a useful model of the cervix!). "People loved the donuts!" said David, a member of our LACE Outreach Team. "The slogan 'Live Aware. Create Empowerment.' also resonated with many of the people."
David added, "Lots of women had questions about whether they still needed a Pap after they've had a hysterectomy, and our volunteers from the UBC Gynaecology Program engaged with these women about cervical cancer awareness. There were a lot of misunderstandings of who needs to get a Pap, and lots of older women who thought the campaign didn't apply to them."
Overall the LACE outreach team spoke to over 150 women! Thanks again to the organizers of the Alley Health Fair for inviting us to join- we're already looking forward to next year! If you have an event that you think LACE should attend, please email the LACE outreach team, or post to our Facebook Wall!
Tag(s):
LACE campaign
Recent Blogs by Michelle Reid:
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Michelle is the Outreach Coordinator for the LACE Campaign. She joined the Hello Cool World team in 2011 after completing her Master of Health.
She has spent many years working with grassroots community organizations, and continues to be active as a freelance writer and sexual health advocate.
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