We take a community development approach by providing education, support and advocacy services to the people of Cape Breton Island. The Ally Centre of Cape Breton now has a primary health care clinic for people from vulnerable populations.
This includes people living with stigmatized illnesses such as HIV, HCV, mental health and substance use disorder, homeless people, people in trouble with the law, women escaping domestic violence, sex trade workers and people from the LGBTQ community; we embrace both youth and adults in all the aforementioned situations. The reason we are hosting the clinic is because folks in such situations tend not to seek healthcare because they fear being stigmatized or because their life style is often a barrier.
We aim to reduce these barriers by providing primary health care services in a known non-judgemental and caring environment. The goal is to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases by providing safe injection equipment and sharps containers for safe disposal of used needles.
Along with the available Anonymous Testing and various education programs, we hope to offer more than an ounce of prevention. ACCB offers a range of public education to schools, workplaces, community organizations and healthcare providers. We also provide Naloxone training and kits. The ACCB works toward influencing public policy and government spending to assist its clients and community. They also work to help provide accurate research data, which can then be used to assist in policy decisions.
Improving the overall health and well-being of its clients is the goal. Studies estimate that nearly 18, Canadians living with HIV are undiagnosed. This represents one quarter of the estimated total number of Canadians living with HIV.
