October is breast cancer awareness month and it was the perfect opportunity for Councilwoman Patricia Fairclough-Staggers to host a special breast cancer presentation. She hosted State Representative Kevin Chambliss as he presented the $500,000 grant by the State of Florida to offer a comprehensive breast cancer screening program for residents. This monumental award will help many women in the community and has been a culmination of multiple years of effort to receive grant state funding to bring this program to Homestead. Councilwoman Fairclough-Staggers wanted to celebrate this monumental award as a big win for Homestead. She invited Mayor and Council to join her in front of the dais to accept the big novelty check in honor of the group effort it took to acquire the funding.

“We have been fighting to receive this funding for years to help uninsured women in our City receive the care they need,” remarked Councilwoman Fairclough-Staggers. “Early detection is key to saving lives. My mother did not have access to these services and she is no longer with us today, so I am here, a daughter on a mission, to ensure the women of Homestead have access to these resources.”

Councilwoman Fairclough-Staggers also made sure to thank State Representative Kevin Chambliss for all of his hard work and countless hours spent fighting for Homestead to receive the grant and help the women in the community. The dais was decorated in pink hues complete with a balloon arch, pink and white floral arrangements, and a large pink ribbon for the momentous occasion. Those who attended the presentation also wore pink to show support for the fight against breast cancer.

Later in the evening, Mayor and Council awarded the RFP to Florida International University’s Linda Fenner 3D Mobile Mammography Center to provide mobile mammography screening services to the uninsured women of Homestead who are over 40 years of age, free of cost. The program also consists of a Certified Breast Navigator that will guide women through an inconclusive or positive test and help to provide them with resources as well as support throughout the breast cancer survivorship process. For more  information on the program, visit www.cityofhomestead.com/breastcancer