Back-to-School Fair Helps Immigrant Families Gear Up for New School Year

Last Friday, immigrant families flocked to the Roosevelt Health Resource & Back to School Fair, hosted by NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health and New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE). The fair offered critical health resources for children and adults and gave away school supplies ahead of the school new year that will start on Sept. 5.

Doris Aguilar, 44, an Ecuadorian resident from Woodside, attended the event with her son and her niece and nephew. “We are very grateful,” Aguilar said in Spanish. “Every assistance we can get helps and the help they provide for the kids is very welcome.” Her 10-year-old son, Flavio, is starting the fifth grade and was there to pick up a backpack filled with school supplies.

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Some of the additional services offered at the fair included free blood pressure checks, animal-face paintings, and child-friendly books, filled with illustrations about cavities and oral hygiene. By 1:30 p.m., more than 40 people, many parents with children, had lined up, grabbed a ticket, and made a queue to receive one of the backpacks.

Vanessa Rodriguez, who lives in Elmhurst, was one of the parents waiting in line. “I have three children. One will start highschool, my daughter is starting middle school, and my baby who is starting the 3-K,” she said, pointing at his son who had fallen asleep on the stroller. “With these difficult times and the low pay at work, these events besides informing us, really helps us.”

The fair was open to the public and took place at the stretch of 72nd Street, between Broadway and Roosevelt Avenue. More than 12 tents filled the streets where city health agencies provided information regarding Health Insurance and other programs like NYC Care, a health program introduced by the city of New York which provides low-cost or free medical services to individuals who do not qualify for or cannot afford health insurance, including undocumented individuals.

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Nilbia Coyote, executive director of NICE, said they wanted the fair so they could empower the families they work with. “As you imagine sometimes they have more than one kid, so this is really a relief for them,” she said. Coyote added that NICE would be giving 250 backpacks with school supplies to the families that attended the event.

NYC H+H will be hosting more back-to-school events to provide families with school supplies and healthcare information to start the new year. More information can be found here .

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