HANOVER COUNTY, Va. — The Hanover NAACP held its first-ever Health Fair Saturday morning at Pool Green Park in Mechanicsville.
The organization works to build trust between the medical community and people of color, as national statistics show communities of color tend to have higher mortality rates and shorter life expectancies.
Pastor Adreania Tolliver said she organized the event because she knows some people in the community don't trust doctors, despite the need for testing and treatment.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, people of color are more likely to die from COVID-19, heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza, pneumonia, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and homicide.
Officials also found that people of color had a life expectancy five and a half years shorter.
“I realized there wasn't enough information in certain communities about what they could do to protect themselves,” Tolliver said. “Making sure my friends have the information they need to stay healthy is very important to me.”
Organizers from the Hanover NAACP organized the health fair because they saw a need for outreach during the pandemic.
So they brought together dozens of healthcare organizations, nonprofits and businesses to participate in the event.
“Patients may not trust their doctors, but they may trust their loved ones,” Toliver said, “so our hope is to be advocates for themselves and their loved ones and bring trust back into the community.”
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