The Oxford-Lafayette County Branch of the NAACP is sponsoring their first Oxford-Lafayette Community Health Fair on Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Lafayette County Multipurpose Arena.

According to the local NAACP Chapter President Ruth Ball, the goal is to have a healthy community and trying to get more people vaccinated to reach herd immunity.

“We’re in the pandemic and health issues have really been brought to the forefront during this time,” said Ball. “We’re going to have a wide variety of different resources for people.”

Primary care clinic, MississippiCare, will supervise the fair’s vaccination site and the University of Mississippi’s School of Pharmacy will hold lipid testing and blood tests for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes.

The university’s School of Nutrition will offer nutritional counseling and BMI and diabetes nutritional information, while the School of Nursing will offer blood pressure tests.

For Medicaid and Medicare patients that have fallen victim to scams, Mississippi Senior Medicare Patrol will provide help.

The event is not limited to organizations and services that assist with physical health, the NAACP wanted to prioritize mental health and address other areas the public might need help with.

In addition to vaccinations, MississippiCare will conduct depression screenings and Family Crisis Services will attend and help victims of abuse.

Other organizations in attendance include the Mid-South Food Bank, North Mississippi Legal Services, Memory Makers, Fitness Nation, Collier Dental, Oxford Community Market and more. The NAACP will have a minimum of 20 groups in attendance and are still looking for more to join the fair.

“We’re trying to give our community the resources they need to be healthy so that they can take care of themselves,” said Ball.

Children are welcome to attend the event and will have fun activities for their entertainment such as face painting, art sections and gift bags will be given out.

Multiple giveaways, sponsored by the NAACP or other participating organizations, will take place at the event. In the NAACP’s giveaway, for every person that is vaccinated, their name will be entered in a drawing for various gifts.

The NAACP is highly anticipating the Oxford-Lafayette County Community Health Fair. Ball said she hopes the public comes out and gets the information they need.

“The NAACP would like to see a healthy community for every citizen,” said Ball.