THE SALVATION ARMY IS PINK STRONG AT 2022 SISTA STRUT
A river of pink t-shirts extended down Market Street through the middle of downtown St. Louis the morning of Oct. 1, as the 2022 Sista Strut was underway and changing lives, bringing together breast cancer survivors, women of color, and the broader community.
The Salvation Army was in the middle of Sista Strut for the fourth year in a row, as volunteer sponsor for the event, which is hosted annually by iHeartMedia. A Salvation Army tent, staffed by Ferguson Community Empowerment Center Program Director Jason Acklin and a small team of volunteers, provided information to interested attendees about its unique Pathway to Health program.
The FCEC’s Pathway to Health program, whose model of securing health care access to the socioeconomically disadvantaged has been used in local hospitals, including SSM and Christian Hospital, goes to the heart of the Sista Strut: recognizing that breast cancer can disproportionately affect women of color.
People in pink, the universal color for breast cancer prevention, surrounded the Salvation Army tent, picking up brochures about the FCEC and Pathway to Health, which connects families with community health workers and case managers, to provide support and promote self-sufficiency.
LaKeysha Fields, The Salvation Army St. Louis Area Command Social Services Director, spoke onstage, mentioning the Shield’s regular presence at Sista Strut.
“I know you’ve seen those red kettles,” Fields said to the high-energy crowd. “We do a whole lot more than red kettles. We are in the community. We are here to help and support. We are proud for this to be our fourth year as the volunteer sponsor for Sista Strut. We believe in health and wellness.”
The strut itself was roughly two miles, in a rectangle around downtown. Several thousand people walked the strut, which had a pep rally stage presentation with DJ, public leaders, speakers, dancers, live music, and a show host, before the strut started just after 9 a.m. and ended about an hour later.
“It’s very important that we not isolate ourselves. Everything is intertwined,” Fields said of The Salvation Army’s role in fighting breast cancer, before taking the stage. “The families that we serve, St. Louis is very high in breast cancer for African American women. We can’t ignore those statistics. We have to be part of the solution. For us, Pathway to Health is our solution. Through that, we do a lot of health initiatives, like Sista Strut.”
One of the unique and highly touching touches of Sista Strut was that attendees made their own clothes or signs as tributes to loved ones who had succumbed to or survived breast cancer. Altogether, the scope of sights of families affected by breast cancer were a reminder of the pernicious effect of the illness and its commonality.
It also spoke to the size and importance of the FCEC and The Salvation Army’s mission in helping people vulnerable to health issues and socioeconomic complicating factors.
“Uninsured and underinsured people are more likely not to seek medical treatment because of the high cost,” Acklin said. “We know that can be a fatal statistic.”
