HUDSON – Earlier this month, Hudson community members gathered at the high school for the Multicultural Health and Wellness Fair. There, members had the opportunity to take advantage of a number of services, including a vaccine clinic, while also getting direct access to resources.
Shortly after the fair started, Coordinator of Health Services Allyson O’Malley told the Community Advocate that the fair was going well.
“People are getting the resources that they need. It’s really good to see. Everybody needs help sometimes,” O’Malley said.
Offering the fair is important, she said.
“In Massachusetts, you have to have health insurance, and there are a lot of people that don’t have it – they don’t have health insurance, they don’t have a doctor, they don’t have a dentist,” O’Malley said. “The only way to be well is to be well completely, and you need to start with having health insurance to be able to go to a doctor. … It’s really important to take care of the whole child, whole parent, whole grandparent.”
According to O’Malley, there was a health and wellness fair years ago. Last year, Hudson High School Assistant Principal Adam Goldberg put on a multicultural fair for families that spoke Spanish and Portuguese with the help of students who are in the medical interpreter program.
This year, O’Malley and Director of Finance and Operations Dan Gale met with Goldberg to begin planning the fair this year and opened it up to all Hudson residents.
Gale, O’Malley and Human Resources Assistant Emily Osborne worked to secure all of the organizations and officials at the fair.
Members of the Hudson Fire and Police Departments, Board of Health and sports were vendors along with legal representation to answer questions about immigration; health, dental and vision providers; and officials to sign people up for MassHealth. Stevie’s Cafe provided food, and families could take clothes from the clothes drive.
“We just saw a need for all families, not just any population, but especially the ones that need a little more assistance,” said O’Malley.
