Community Groups To Hold Cesar Chavez Health Fair In Sonoma County

Press release from the Sonoma County Government:

April 2, 2021

Santa Rosa, CA – April 2, 2021 – In honor of Cesar Chavez Day this week, community residents are invited to attend an outdoor health fair Saturday that will include a COVID-safety campaign art exhibit, consultations with health professionals and opportunities to sign up for vaccinations as well as COVID testing.

The goal of the Raizes Collective's day of celebration is to lower barriers that may prevent individuals, particularly those in communities disproportionately impacted by COVID, from being vaccinated or being tested.

The 2021 Cesar Chavez health fair will take place on Saturday, April 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Park, 1671 Hendley St. in Santa Rosa near the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds. Participants are encouraged to wear a mask. Other safety protocols will be enforced.

The fair is being organized and supported by multiple community groups including Raizes Collective, a Santa Rosa-based group that seeks to empower and mobilize community through the arts, culture and environmental education. Other groups represented include CURA Project, HPEACE, Sonoma County COAD, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Sonoma County, Nuestra Comunidad, LATINO Service Provider, ALMAS Centro Laboral de Graton, Latino Community Foundation and Together Towards Health.

"The health fair seeks to commemorate Cesar Chavez's principles for equity during a once-in-a-generation pandemic by providing an opportunity for our most vulnerable community members," said Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. "We want to ensure our community members feel safe in taking the vaccine by providing the opportunity to speak to health professionals on a day that celebrates the work that Cesar Chavez dedicated his life to."

The County of Sonoma Department of Health Services has been working closely with Federally Qualified Health Centers and community based organizations, including those organizing Saturday's event, to achieve countywide goals of ensuring that Latinx communities and other at-risk groups disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 have equitable access to vaccines and medical resources available to educate residents and minimize the spread of the virus.

"It is imperative that our most vulnerable communities have an equal opportunity to receive the vaccine," said Dr. Urmila Shende, Sonoma County's Vaccine Chief. "The health fair will provide an opportunity for community members to speak with and receive information on testing opportunities from health professionals which will be important as we prepare for a transition to the orange tier."

This press release was produced by the Sonoma County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.