Choctaw Health Center asks for mask donations to distribute to tribal community
PHILADELPHIA, MISS. (WCBI) – The Choctaw Health Center has once again put out a call requesting donations of fabric masks that they can distribute members of the Choctaw tribe across the the Pearl River Reservation and beyond.
“Over the summer months, June, July, August, we were hit very hard with this virus in our cases,” says Director of Public Health Services Denise Benn John.
The Choctaw Health center says the tribe is currently dealing with 30 active cases of COVID-19 and has seen just over 13 percent of the population test positive for the virus during the pandemic.
One of the keys to keeping those numbers down?
“It’s made some difference for us that people do embrace the need to wear a mask,” Benn John says.
Benn John says that throughout the pandemic, the health center has been giving out mask packs to Choctaw tribal members that include two handmade cloth masks, a thermometer and phone numbers for the Choctaw Health center.
Since April, health center officials say the community has donated over 5,000 cloth masks.
“A lot of our tribal members do utilize them and we’re so glad that they know we have them available,” Benn John says.
Now, the health center needs help from the community again.
“We’ve run a little bit low,” Benn John says. “I’d says we have about a boxful (120-125 packs) that’s left.”
The Choctaw Health Center put out the call on Friday for more donations of cloth masks.
“Adult sizes, sizes for youth, children,” Benn John says. “Of course, it’s 2 and above and then we also have some sizes that are for teenagers.”
With the Pearl River Reservation under a mask mandate, Benn John says they want to make sure they continue have enough masks to provide for every member of every household in their community.
“We want to be a catalyst to assist those who may not be able to afford to pay for a mask,” she says.
The Choctaw Health Center says the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Tribal Council has previously donated fabric for the masks and that almost a quarter of their donations have come from outside the state.
For information on how to make a mask donation or get a mask pack, call the Public Health Services COVID-19 Hotline at 601-389-4118 or 601-389-4109 for drop off location information.
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