NNLM AoU Community Award: LGBTQ-affirming Health Fairs at Public Libraries

Through LGBTQ-affirming Health Fairs at Public Libraries, Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center aims to provide community members resources and referrals for specific LGBTQ-affirming healthcare services and providers in the Lehigh Valley region. The LGBTQ community experiences significant health disparities due to our historically marginalized status as a community. Through partnerships with 4 public libraries in Eastern Pennsylvania, we will create LGBTQ-affirming health fairs where participants will find information about some of the principal health issues affecting the community and referrals to LGBTQ-affirming and inclusive healthcare providers. At each health fair, a keynote speaker will address participants and discuss topics of
interest to LGBTQ health equity. These health fairs will help us reach our goal of increasing health literacy to mitigate health disparities impacting the LGBTQ community through informational outreach, community building, and strong partnerships with public libraries. Healthy People 2030 stretches the importance for organizations to equitably address health literacy. By bringing together health care service providers, librarians, and the LGBTQ community, we will be able to bring awareness across disciplines of the issues that affect LGBTQ health equity and literacy.