TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/27/09 -- A team of dentists, optometrists, and other health professionals will provide a free health clinic on Toronto's Jane Street on Saturday December 12, 2009. Along with two dozen volunteers from neighbourhood church Faith Sanctuary, the health care team will donate their time from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, offering services to members of the community who might otherwise be unable to afford the care they need. Adjacent to the planned clinic location is Maple Leaf Seniors, a building that provides housing for senior citizens on a means-adjusted basis. Residents will benefit from their immediate proximity to the free clinic.

The medical team is organized by Health Mission Outreach (HMO), a registered Canadian charity that usually takes caregivers to serve in far-off places like the Amazon or Africa. To the HMO team it seemed natural and very appropriate to put together the same type of medical mission right here at home where the needs are just as real. Through word-of-mouth alone in the Jane and Church Street area of Toronto's west end, demand for such a clinic was so immediate that HMO teamed with Faith Sanctuary to put on a clinic before Christmas. "Access to free, high-quality care will be a great gift that comes just in time for many families in this community", was the feeling among HMO directors.

With demand from the community high and time short, rapid preparations have now begun. Faith Sanctuary has provided space, but plumbing and electrical work is needed so that dental and medical equipment can be put into place. Dental chairs are being sourced and will have to be transported to the clinic site, and then out again after the event. Colleen Palmer-Melville, who is coordinating preparations, estimates that the effort could incur costs in the $10,000 range. Donations will be gratefully accepted through HMO's website (hmocanada.org), or through the hosting organization for this clinic (faithsanctuary.com). If the needed support can be raised, the medical team and community volunteers look forward to the possibility of offering a free clinic again in the Spring of 2010.