Rita Taillefer, executive director of the Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, speaks at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare on November 5, 2018. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.Rita Taillefer, executive director of the Windsor Essex Community Health Centre, speaks at Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare on November 5, 2018. Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News.
Windsor

Pledge to End Bullying hits the road next spring

The Windsor-Essex Community Health Centre is taking its "Pledge to End Bullying" to the streets in spring 2019.

It's a dual effort to not only end bullying but also use that pledge to curb homelessness in the region.

The health centre recently announced that it would roll out a mobile unit to visit areas where people find it challenging to access healthcare.

Executive Director, Rita Taillefer said the mobile unit would take their community outreach to the next level.

"We offer outreach via our vans and our street outreach," said Taillefer. "But, there was also a need to offer a little more than what we're doing right now, so we offer supplies and basic health care, but many times people can't get to our physical locations."

Taillefer said the mobile unit would be a large, fully-functioning truck equipped with the latest equipment.  It is modelled after several units already in place across the province.

In addition to the area's homeless, another group the health centre would like to reach are those who work in rural agriculture, a major industry in Essex County.

"One of the places that it will be definitely going to right now is in Leamington, to the greenhouses," said Taillefer. "Some of the migrant workers and the new Canadians have a problem accessing healthcare in Leamington, so we will be going out to the greenhouses to provide care for those individuals."

The health centre's official website has complete information on their current programs.

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