COPE mobile van offers free screenings

From HIV tests to blood pressure tests, a number of screenings were available for free Thursday in Sussex County.

It was sponsored by the Community Outreach and Education (“COPE”) program’s mobile van, which travels throughout Delaware from Claymont to Delmar.

The outreach program provides free screenings and chooses to host them in rural areas like the Delmar Public Library, which is where it was parked for about five hours on Thursday.

Raheem DarDen, a Community Health & Wellness advocate with COPE, says the tests take about 15 minutes to complete.

“A lot of people don’t come because they don’t want understand that it’s free,” says DarDen. “We charge absolutely nothing for what we do and because we’re care providers, we help connect them with a number of agencies. We’re there to help them with the eyeglasses, with the dentistry, with all of those things.

DarDen says COPE has been operating for about a year now. We’re told they plan to be back in Delmar in August.