Open House at THE HOPE BUS at East Bay Center

Hosted for the community by the East Bay Center

The HOPE BUS, a program of the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer
Resource Foundation will visit the East Bay area on Tuesday, November 5th
from 10am to 2pm.  The   bright pink bus will be at the East Bay
Center’s 2 Old County Road location in Barrington, RI.  With this being the time of the year to
recognize breast cancer and work to increase awareness and support for those
who are survivors, or at risk, their families, as well as the professional
community, the staff and board at EBC is offering this program to allow these
services and information to be easily accessible to all in the area.  The Hope Bus is open to anyone wanting to
visit. 

Maureen DiPiero, coordinator of The Hope Bus, and a staff
member at the Foundation, said, “we’ll have an art project for everyone to do
if they would like – the ‘healing arts’ have been part of the bus since its
inception.  Special things happen on the
bus – women and families get supported in accessing services, such as
mammograms, and resources are identified for those without health insurance,
and special services and programs throughout the state are made available to
those in need. Increasing awareness of breast cancer is our primary goal.” 

Robert
Crossley, President/CEO of East Bay Center, said, “This is a special time for
people to come together, whether they have had breast cancer, another type of
cancer, or not – The Hope Bus creates a community – and we welcome everyone
from the East Bay to stop by, ask questions, and share.  We’ll also have staff on the bus to provide
information about the services we offer here at EBC, from counseling for women,
children, spouses, families, and caregivers, to a wide array of support
services.  We welcome everyone to stop by
for this opportunity – and our staff are excited to learn more about the work
of the Foundation.”

About
the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation’s Hope Bus
- The primary mission is to raise breast health awareness, encourage threefold
screening (breast self-exam, annual clinical exam and annual mammograms) and
provide educational resources about breast cancer.  Programs are designed to provide information
and resources for everyone.  They have a three-ring approach to the
important phases in a person’s life.  Birth to diagnosis relates to all
people who have not been diagnosed, and includes breast health education and
encourages a healthy lifestyle. The second phase is diagnosis to end of
treatment.  This phase encompasses all the services the foundation provides
to breast cancer patients and their loved ones.  The third phase is the
end of treatment and beyond, which includes survivorship and thrivership
programs and services, as well as extended support.  In addition to
educational services, they offer healing arts programs, spa services, nutrition
classes, support groups, access to the Women’s Cancer Screening Program (which
provides free mammograms to uninsured/underinsured women), and a safe
environment in which to share experiences and life stories. Visitors are
encouraged to ask questions and make suggestions for future programs. The Hope
Bus was donated to the Foundation by the Halkyard Family Foundation.  It
is supported in part by grants from the Rhode Island Foundation, Blue
Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and Amgen Foundation.

About East Bay Center:  East Bay Center has been building healthy and caring
relationships for over four decades. We offer comprehensive psychiatric and
counseling services to people who struggle with mental illness and substance
abuse disorders. We frequently work with those challenged by depression,
anxiety, addictions, trauma and co-occurring medical problems. Programs range
from crisis intervention to medication management to individual, family and/or
group counseling.