Local organizations to host health resource fair to aid in health crisis

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Local organizations are coming together to host a health resource fair to aid in Augusta’s health crisis.

Wallace Branch Library is partnering with Reduce Your Risk and the Department of Public Health to host the Golden Blocks Block Party Health and Resource Fair.

This event is free to the public and will feature free health screenings, vaccinations, free clothes and food, Lucy Craft Laney Museum Tours, 40-plus community resource vendors, live entertainment, and guest speakers.

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Younger attendees can enjoy children’s crafts, a comic book giveaway, and a petting zoo. The Augusta Library’s Bookmobile will be giving out free books, along with appearances from the princesses of Brown Beauty Magic.

Sandra May, branch manager of Wallace Branch Library says, ‘’The Augusta-Richmond County Public System provides free access to movies, music, books, foreign language lessons, career readiness tools, college test prep materials, community gathering space, and more. But there are many patrons whose needs are harder for us to address alone, such as health and wellness. Therefore, we are partnering with our essential organizations to help fulfill essential community needs of tangible resources and care.”

The Golden Blocks neighborhood holds a rich and historic value to the City of Augusta. During segregation, the area was the heart of Augusta’s black business community.

Federal “Red Line” policies prevented citizens from receiving bank mortgages within certain areas that were predominantly non-white populations, and businesses elsewhere in the city were allowed to discriminate against black patrons due to Jim Crow-era laws.

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In the Golden Blocks area, black-owned banks, insurance companies, theaters, and other businesses worked to offset this discrimination and thrived, creating a strong sense of community.

Today, this historic sector lacks pertinent resources that affect the community’s quality of life. This area is considered the urban core of Augusta. Based on the Distressed Communities Index scale, on a scale from 0 to 100, with 100 being the worst, its index is 99.7.

This scale considers school dropout rates, poverty rates, and unemployment rates, which are all high in this area. The partners for this event will educate and ister information, services, and resources to the community that will aid in developing and enhancing a lifestyle of good health and wellness.

The health fair will be held on May 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wallace Branch Library, located at 1237 Laney Walker Boulevard. The part of C.S. Hamilton Way and 13th Street that border Wallace Branch Library will shut down temporarily for this event.