On Wednesday Sept. 27, Fresno City College hosted the second annual Ram Health Fair, where health-related vendors showcase free services to help influence positive and healthy habits among students and staff.
Held at University Mall by the library from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. free services were provided that included vaccination, Women, Infant and Children(WIC) services, Narcan Distributions, Blood Pressure checks and HIV/Hepatitis C testing and more.
Groups that included United Health Care, IQ Vision, Central California, Pregnancy Care Center, Valley Fitness and others all participated with public activities and displays.
Lance Barzet, Valley Fitness Club Manager of the Ashlan and Cedar location, explained the gym is made for a safe space for people to work out.
“We are not just a gym, we do provide a little bit extra customer service and we tend to give back to the people a lot,” Barzet said.
Barzet believes members and future members are not just “numbers,” but they are people.
According to Lili Goishi-Bessy, FCC Student Health Service Coordinator, the idea of the event is to help students make positive health choices and know about the community health resources available to them.
The event showcased more of a diverse stream of health related services for students that focus on specific wellness and health related issues.
These include services from Tower Yoga, Black Wellness and Prosperity Center/African American Coalition, Cultiva La Salud, and Tzu Chi Mobile Clinic, Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (EOC) and the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
Alexander Sanborn, the Public Relations and Outreach specialist for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Center (DHHSC) and past FCC student, explained from the interpreter the different services provide advocacy, independent living skills, information referrals, etc.
According to Sanborn, DHHSC has the Reaching Out to Our Kids (ROCK) program, which teaches parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children American Sign Language (ASL) to help better communicate with their children.
Sanborn also provided information on the different events they hold such as Love and Literacy, a private event where parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children have access to books, animals and fun activities more geared towards family friendly focus.
Culitva de Salud engages, informs and inspires residents in the San Joaquin Valley who experience poverty. For the last 16 years, they have helped disadvantaged places to promote personal health, the health of their families and active living.
Kevin Sanchez, Project Coordinator of Cultiva de Salud explained their program’s mission is to provide health and education to the community by connecting community members to resources.
According to Sanchez, Cultive de Salud also focuses on the families to show them the resources that they offer such as medical rights, immigration services and more, by providing help with the application process and getting the assistance they need.
Evelyn Rosales, Project Coordinator of the Health and Disparities project says they provide services in some rural areas of the Valley.
“What we do is that we reduce vulnerability with health risk and health conditions by connecting to resources that are available within most states and Fresno County, by connecting them to services they were not aware of in the past,’’ Rosales said.
Jadien Martinez, Bioengineering major, talked to University of San Francisco about their services, what they have to offer and advice he should take.
“I have major social anxiety and I am trying to fix that. They were basically telling me to get out of my comfort zone and like just talk to people,” Martinez said.
Leah Tucker, Sociology major, was at the health fair to learn something new, but also to seek out future endeavors.
Tucker is planning on applying to the Department of Social Services (DSS) as a technology analyst as it is one of their entry level jobs. The Departments of State Center Community College is working with DSS for human resources specialist certification that she is planning on doing as well.
“DSS has been one of the most frequently hiring people right now and to be here and ask them questions and see what the requirements are, is a really good step towards making a better future for myself,” Tucker said.
Health and Service administered a student survey at the Health Fair to help determine how successful they were at providing health resources that are beneficial to the needs of students.
