Back to School Fair/Health Screening for Immigrant and Refugee Families

Local nonprofit organizations ICNA Relief of Arizona (ICNA Relief AZ) and Asian Pacific Community in Action (APCA), are teaming up to hold a back-to-school supply distribution and health screening festival for immigrant and refugee families.

When: Saturday, August 5th (9am to 12pm)
Where: Arizona Cultural Academy, 7810 S 42nd Pl, Phoenix, AZ 85042 (Directions)

Families who come to Arizona through the complex immigration and refugee system face many barriers to meaningful access to healthcare and resources as they settle into their new Phoenix home. Like all Arizonans, concerns about job security, inflation, and rising rents have increased – navigating these hard times with a new language and cultural environment can leave many people left out of basic health services and resources. APCA and ICNA Relief AZ, have been collaborating for many years to bring together resources in a linguistically and culturally accessible way.

Too many people in the communities we served are not offered interpretation services nor written materials in languages they speak while accessing healthcare services, even though providing these services is mandated by federal laws. Our organizations work to ensure that our families have what
they need in order to thrive and feel welcomed and included.

ICNA Relief AZ and APCA will join forces to provide back to school supplies, food and hygiene boxes, and health screenings: including basic blood sugar and blood pressure testing, Body Mass Index (BMI) screening, eye exams, vaccinations for COVID, A1C diabetes screening, and Hepatitis B and other adult vaccines. The hope is to screen community members and refer them to a medical home and provide education on the importance of annual check ups and staying insured.

In addition, there will be water games, face painting, and henna for the kids, food and snacks, hair cuts, and other activities. Many other community organizations will be providing their services and connecting with the community members.

“The Covid pandemic changed how we interact with our public health system, our aim is to create a better community response that will eliminate catastrophic illness from preventable diseases like diabetes and liver cancer.” – Zeenat Hasan, Executive Director, APCA

More information about the aforementioned organizations can be found on:
www.apcaaz.org, https://icnarelief.org/arizona/

Media Contact:
Jessika Malic, Communications Director
480-999-8993
Jessika@apcaaz.org

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