Event Background

What is this event?

A Very Queer Health Fair is a free, all-inclusive LGBTQTSIA+ health and wellness fair created for queer people, by queer people. The purpose of this event is to break down the various barriers to health and wellness, and provide services and resources that are inclusive of the various identities within the community.
This entire event is student led. LGBTQTSIA+ healthcare students from UW have been working tirelessly in their "free" time between classes, clinic, and work to put this event on for no reason other than to connect with their community. None of the organizers are getting paid, school credit, or any other incentive than simply to give back and be the change they want to see.
The event is being organized and hosted by iDENTity, the only LGBTQTSIA+ student organization at the UW School of Dentistry. They are bringing in a fully equipped mobile dental van in which they will be providing full dental services during 2.5 hour appointments, along with other oral healthcare services and resources. Other UW LGBTQTSIA+ student-led organizations from the UW campus, such as unicoRN from the UW School of Nursing and QTPT from the UW School of Physical Therapy, will also provide health services, screenings, resources, and more. That's not all though! Also along for the ride are other LGBTQTSIA+ centric community organizations and businesses, such as Entre Hermanos, Bishops Cuts and Color, and Lavender Rights Project. We will also have some live music, a vogue dance performance by the House of Essence, a photobooth, a pop-up market featuring queer artists, and more! Head over to our program tab to read more about who and what you can find at our event!

Why is this event happening?

A Very Queer Health Fair is being spear-headed and organized by iDENTity, the UW School of Dentistry's LGBTQTSIA+ student group. They realized that there are many barriers to oral healthcare in general, and even more so if you belong to one or more marginalized groups. They wanted to create an event that would allow members of the LGBTQTSIA+ community to access oral healthcare in an inclusive and accessible way. Recognizing that oral healthcare is far from the only type of service or resource that is frequently inaccessible, especially related to healthcare, they decided to bring in an entire crew of LGBTQTSIA+ health providers, student health organizations, community organizations, and local businesses. This way, members of the LGBTQTSIA+ community could come and access all different types of services and resources in a space that feels safe, welcoming, and inclusive.

The mission of this event is to break down barriers and increase access to inclusive and comprehensive healthcare, to connect the queer community with queer health professional students in an authentic and purposeful way, to cultivate a space for the queer community from all all our various backgrounds to gather and share in the things we want and need, and to connect in meaningful ways that show that 'health is more than healthcare'.

How is this a "queer" health fair?

organizers are mainly queer people/queer health professional students
involved groups/organizations are queer led, owned, run, or allied
resources and services are both:
- 1) "basic" healthcare services you should be able to access anywhere (if there weren't so many barriers to accessing care) -- here you can access them in an inclusive and fun way!
- 2) services and resources aimed at addressing health disparities that disproportionately affect LGBTQTSIA+ people
the whole environment is meant to be safe, inclusive, and accessible for all LGBTQTSIA+ identifying individuals