Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/17/2023
WORCESTER COUNTY — On April 26, the North Brookfield Public School District will hosting a Community Health Fair from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the North Brookfield High School gymnasium on 10 New School Dr.
This evening event will give community members additional access, exposure, and resources from various physical/mental health providers and organizations that include: The Worcester County District Attorney’s Community Outreach Team, Quaboag Hills Substance Use Alliance, Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership, Worcester Community Action Council who serves families in southern Worcester County, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Massachusetts and many more. The school district will also have some breakout rooms for individual sessions with families to learn more about these programs.
Interim Superintendent Tim McCormick said, “This is a free town/school event. We want to bridge that gap between what’s going on in the town and make the school more accessible for people in the community.” He continued, “We want people to come in and take their time walking to the vendors. We’re a small rural town and I think a lot of our families don’t know all the resources that are available to them, so we wanted to start bringing all of these resources as many as we could together and let families know what’s available.”
Since August of 2022, the North Brookfield Public School District formed a monthly community coalition McCormick runs and hosted community outreach meetings with several members of the greater North Brookfield community in hopes of building a stronger working relationship between the community and the school district. McCormick told Reminder Publishing these meetings have been doing well after their National Night Out and led to them planning and scheduling several events for their families, students, and faculty.
The Quaboag Hills Substance Use Alliance has an ongoing relationship with North Brookfield. The Alliance will provide information and materials, such as flyers and booklets, about behavioral health, and health resources in their communities. They have initiatives that address substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery. Some of their new initiatives include a food policy council and a regional youth council. They’ll also have fun giveaways including bags, backpacks, and squishy toys that are great for both children and adults.
Community Engagement Coordinator Abaigeal Duda said, “The most important thing that we provide is friendly people from our communities to support people who have questions or concerns about issues that affect health in our region.”
She continued, “We love meeting people. We want to say hello to existing friends and new individuals and families who will attend this terrific event. We always hope that we will make a connection with folks who are interested in the topics that we address, and we love hearing from everyone.”
The Worcester County District Attorney’s Community Outreach Team focuses on Prevention offering a variety of informative and inclusive presentations on vaping, opioids, healthy relationships, cyberbullying, and scam prevention. Community & School Outreach Coordinator Hope Rudzinski, scams prevention expert Kevin Donohue who works with their seniors and supervisor Ellen Miller are team members who work hard to interact with parents, schools, teens, and seniors to keep them safe and informed on topics that impact their lives. Rudzinski has worked with and continues to work with schools and parents of the North Brookfield community and recently had a presentation about healthy relationships. She has a planned presentation on cyber safety.
District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said, “Our Outreach Team specializes in these sought-after presentations, and we continue to monitor issues impacting our teens and communities so we can offer information that is up to date and relevant to our times and ever-changing society.” The Outreach team will offer brochures and informational packets at the health fair, but more importantly they will interact with the community, answer questions, and make sure people know they can request their presentations, which they are always happy to give.
McCormick said, “We want to make sure families are informed about all the options for physical and mental health and all the support that is available in the greater North Brookfield area. He went on to say, “The next step would be to have longer presentations along with the fair. Our hope is to run something like this a couple of times throughout the year, so families have that contact information at their fingertips.”