Shenandoah LGBTQ Center holds health fairs

STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) – The Shenandoah LGBTQ Center held a health fair this weekend in Staunton and the organization is planning another one next month.

The center received a grant from the Central Shenandoah Health District to provide COVID vaccinations and boosters to the LGBTQ community.

Getting the grant also gave them the opportunity to host the fairs to provide resources for comprehensive health care in the Shenandoah Valley.

“What we’re trying to do is show up and show out for our communities,” Cole Troxell, event director for the Shenandoah LGBTQ Center said.

Sunday’s health fair focused on transgender and non-binary community members.

“We’re just trying to make sure people can come to a safe space and be empowered to get vaccinated and boosted if they maybe didn’t have that experience out in the world as sort of navigating vaccination processes,” Troxell said.

This is the second fair this year and the expansion has already surpassed expectations.

“Between February and this month, we have doubled the amount of vendors that we have had present at the fair. That is, to me, that’s the impact that is where you see the beauty of community,” Troxell said.

Troxell said the feedback the center has received has been positive.

“It has been incredible,” Troxell said. “The feedback was something maybe I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams.”

Troxell hopes this is only the beginning of helping community members with specific health needs.

“There is something to be said about these small communities and how they work within each other, but if we have doubled the amount of community partners in two months this to me is a jump off for something a lot bigger as we continue to cast a broader net,” Troxell said.

The center is holding another fair at the end of June but urges people to reach out if they can’t make it to the fairs.

“If you miss a fair or you were able to attend like that is not where it stops we will always have these resources available and we want to make sure we can get people to the right places,” Troxell said.

This project is supported by the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and in partnership with the Central Shenandoah Health District.

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