Supervisor Maxwell and San Francisco Hep B Free Outreach to Asians in Portola Neighborhood
July 1, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO – Clad in bright blue t-shirts with red emblazoned “B’s” on their chests, approximately 15 San Francisco Hep B Free representatives along with Supervisor Sophie Maxwell and Portola neighborhood representatives teamed up to distribute 7,000 bright yellow biodegradeable shopping bags with imprinted hepatitis B prevention messages to San Bruno Ave. merchants on June 29.
The goal was to educate the large Asian population in the neighborhood about the disease. Hepatitis B is responsible for one-in-four liver cancer cases among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.
One side of the bag carries the “B a Hero” logo of the SF Hep B Free campaign, which encourages all San Franciscans to be a hero by simply getting tested for the hepatitis B virus and encouraging their friends and families to get tested as well. The other side of the bag displays the hepatitis B message in four languages: English, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean.
Kenneth Lam, Branch Manager of the neighborhood’s Sterling Bank and Trust helped translate in Cantonese to neighborhood shop owners, the importance of getting tested and vaccinated for the disease. Lam said it was important for him to participate in the merchant walk, because one of his family members has the disease. He says he has not yet been tested, but plans to soon.
“This was a great chance to educate the community on a grass roots level about this disease and the resources that are available to them,” said Shirley Chen, program assistant for the Portola Neighborhood Steering Committee.
The SF Hep B Free bags were donated by Hayward-based Tri Star Plastic, Inc. Tri Star CEO Andrew Chen’s father was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B several years ago and underwent a successful liver transplant. Now, Chen says he wishes to do whatever he can to let people know about hepatitis B, which, left unmonitored and untreated, can cause cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer and liver failure.
“This was a good start, but a lot of work still needs to be done to educate the community about hepatitis B, which is manageable and preventable,” said District 10 Supervisor Maxwell. “It is important for people to get tested and become informed about Hepatitis B.”
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One Response to “Supervisor Maxwell and San Francisco Hep B Free Outreach to Asians in Portola Neighborhood”
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It is really necessary to make campaign to fight against the hepatitis B .
One third of world population is infected but even patients are lack of awareness to prevent further transmission.
Hepatitis B is preventable disease.
We have to promote the public awareness.
Your activity is very good.