ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. — The St. Tammany's Sheriff's Department is going all out, joining healthcare workers on the Northshore for breast cancer awareness month.
And they are bringing the screenings to a ladies’ night out kickoff party.
It's not a sight that you usually see, a police cruiser wrapped in pink. And it bears personal messages of hope, and healing, and hearts, broken from loved ones taken by cancer.
“We want to know that they don't fight this fight alone. So, we are there for them. Nobody fights alone, And what I've found is that everybody knows somebody,” said Sgt. Carli Messina, PIO for St. Tammany Sheriff’s Department.
For a small donation, you can sign the St. Tammany Sheriff's pink car to help women without insurance, get a mammogram. In three years, donations are around $60,000. Survivors sign free.
“We go to tons of community events and businesses as well. We even get asked by just cancer, people that are currently fighting as well. I've made several home visits to people if they just want to sign the car,” Sgt. Messina said.
The sheriff's pink car will join the Be Well Bus for a kickoff party for breast cancer awareness month on Friday night.
“St. Tammany is so community minded, and we really want to make sure that we're reaching everyone. And so, if they're going to come out, and have a good time, we'd love to educate them, and give them access to the resources they need,” said Anne Pablovich, Director of Community Engagement at the St. Tammany Health System.
And with the food and music at Ladies' Night Out, the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation and St. Tammany Health System invite men and women to get free screening and health advice on everything from lung, skin, and breast cancer, heart, and cardiovascular disease on the Be Well Bus.
“If you make it as easy as possible for somebody to get a mammogram, to get a skin cancer screening, they're so much more likely to jump on the opportunity and take advantage of it,” said Pablovich.
Already, its appearance at events and businesses has made a difference.
“And there's been situations where we've caught findings. Those are really, really meaningful stories where just providing that ease of access can be lifesaving and life-changing,” Pablovich added.
So, help paint the parish pink, and let the United in Pink campaign, be a reminder to get your mammogram every year.
The kickoff party is open to all on Friday night from 5:00 to 8:00, at the Covington Beer Garden.
All the screenings and wellness checks will be free.
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