BTAN LA and Watts Healthcare Show Strength in Unity
Wellness Day staff and volunteers
The Black Treatment Advocates Network Los Angeles was excited to host its first Community Wellness Day on July in partnership with Watts Healthcare and Walgreens. Held in the heart of Watts, the event followed a three-part testing series centered in different housing complexes throughout South LA, connecting the community to services and resources.
"The most effective work is done when several partners join together for the benefit of the community," says Percival Pandy, Linkage to Care Coordinator for the Black AIDS Institute, who planned the event along with Benjamin Scott, Outreach Supervisor of Watts Healthcare Corporation.
Community partner organizations included R3VNG of APLA, UCLA, Colors LGBTQ Youth Counseling Center and Los Angeles LGBT Center, with free HIV testing provided by Watts Health.
"With the HIV epidemic at an all-time high in urban communities, I am inspired by the selfless commitment the men and women at both BTAN and Watts Healthcare exhibit today, and every day in our communities. I am pleased Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy can be a part of this work. With efforts like these, a world without HIV will one day become a reality" said Sachiko Jackson, Regional Account Manager of Walgreens Pharmacy.
The Community Wellness Day is slated to be the first of many engagement events throughout the remainder of 2016. To connect with BTAN LA or for more information about upcoming Wellness Days, contact