By Thomasine Leachman, health and wellness manager, YWCA Greater Atlanta
In Atlanta, a short drive can mean a dramatic difference in how long a person can expect to live.
The Atlanta Regional Commission has documented wide differences in life expectancy across metro Atlanta. In communities separated by only a few miles, life expectancy differs by nearly 24 years. The reasons are bigger than what happens inside a doctor’s office. Where people live can shape their access to safe housing, healthy food, transportation, education, economic opportunity, and quality healthcare.
This is one of the starkest illustrations of what many Atlantans already know: We may live in the same region, but we do not all have the same opportunity to live long, healthy lives.
For women, geography is only the first layer. Race, income, insurance status, transportation, work schedules, caregiving responsibilities, language, and trust in the healthcare system can all influence whether a woman is able to receive the preventive care she needs. We see these barriers firsthand through YWCA Greater Atlanta’s ENCOREplus breast health program.
We spend a great deal of time in public health talking about awareness, and awareness matters. Women need reliable information about their health. They need to understand their risks. They need to know when screenings are recommended and why early detection can save lives.
But knowing you need a mammogram is not the same as being able to get one. A health service can exist in our region and still remain out of reach for the woman who needs it most. A study of predominantly Black women across metro Atlanta found that 86% of those surveyed said they would get a mammogram if breast cancer screening were offered in their neighborhood. Lack of health insurance and cost were the most commonly cited barriers to screening. Those findings matter because the consequences of unequal access are not distributed equally.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, from 2020 through 2024, the breast cancer mortality rate among Black women in Georgia was 25.7 per 100,000, compared with 19.2 among white women. That gap should challenge us to think differently about what access really means.
Over the past year, we have also seen an increase in the number of women seeking services through ENCOREplus. For women who lose a job — and with it, employer-sponsored health insurance — a routine mammogram or necessary follow-up care can suddenly become another expense they cannot afford.
True access cannot simply mean that a mammography center exists somewhere in the region. It means that a woman knows the service is available, can afford it, can get there, can communicate with the people providing her care, feels comfortable seeking that care, and has support navigating what happens next if additional testing or treatment is needed.
These are all reasons why community-based health programs matter. Through ENCOREplus, YWCA Greater Atlanta provides breast health education in English and Spanish and connects uninsured and underserved women with free mammograms and follow-up services. In 2025, our team provided breast health education to 875 women, connected women with 279 mammograms and 30 diagnostic follow-up mammograms, and reached 200 Spanish-speaking participants.
But these numbers tell only part of the story.
Earlier this year, ENCOREplus provided a no-cost screening mammogram to a 44-year-old single mother of two who is self-employed and uninsured. She had never had a mammogram.
The screening detected Stage 1 breast cancer, and our team helped connect her with timely treatment. She later shared how fortunate she felt to have found the program and how important access to the mammogram had been.
Her experience illustrates what can be at stake when we talk about access. She did not simply need to know that mammograms were important. She needed a way to receive one.
Access is also about trust. ENCOREplus intentionally brings breast health information into the communities where women live their lives. For our Latina participants, that includes Spanish-speaking outreach staff and educators who can communicate with women in their preferred language and provide culturally relevant information.
We have seen how these connections can create greater openness around breast health concerns and help women feel more comfortable taking the next step toward screening. Sometimes the most effective messenger is not an institution. It is someone who understands the community and can meet women where they are.
That lesson becomes particularly important as we enter October and recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Pink ribbons, campaigns, walks, luncheons, and other events will once again elevate the importance of breast health and screening. These annual efforts have helped make breast health a necessary part of our national conversation.
But awareness has to lead somewhere. Closing Atlanta’s health gaps will take more than any single health system, government agency, nonprofit, or community organization can accomplish alone. It requires sustained investment in preventive care, community-based outreach, patient navigation, transportation, and other supports that make care truly accessible. It also requires us to recognize that health is connected to the broader conditions in which women live, work, raise families, and build their futures.
Because when a woman cannot get the care she needs, the consequences do not stop with her health. They can affect her ability to work, care for her family, remain financially stable, and participate fully in her community.
Health equity is women’s equity. A woman’s ZIP code can tell us a great deal about the opportunities and barriers surrounding her. It should not determine her opportunity to live a long and healthy life.
As Atlanta continues working to close the divides between our communities, our measure of progress cannot be simply how many women know what they should do for their health. We must also ask whether we have made it possible for them to do it.
Thomasine Leachman is health and wellness manager at YWCA Greater Atlanta, where she leads community-based health initiatives focused on expanding access to preventive care and improving health outcomes for women.
This is sponsored content.
