Courtesy photos.
NYELAND ACRES — The community of Nyeland Acres celebrated the start of National Public Health Week on Saturday April 1st, 2023. The Spring Health Fair took place at the Nyeland Acres Community Center. At the event, various health agencies set up a series of booths and distributed educational materials. All residents had the opportunity to receive free health screenings from Westminster Free Clinic, including glucose and blood pressure testing. Residents also had the opportunity to participate in a fun Zumba class. Every family that attended received a box of berries donated by Reiter Affiliated Co. and bananas donated by The Port of Hueneme. There were about 220 residents that attended the health fair.
As part of the event, the children from the Nyeland Acres Cultural Arts Enrichment Program (Youth Mariachi) performed for the very first time. The Nyeland Acres Youth Mariachi, led by Nyeland Promise and Inlakech Cultural Arts Center, entertained the fair attendees that waited in line to receive health screenings. The 50 members of the mariachi sang songs such as, “Amor Eterno”, and “Arboles”. When the little ones finished their performance, they went on to receive health information from the agencies and also got an opportunity to get their face painted by a local artist.
“We are so excited to have our residents participate in the Spring Health Fair and have them cheer on the Nyeland Acres Youth Mariachi,” says Brenda Heredia, Outreach Coordinator, Fellow. “The Zumba class is so popular that the group is asking us to add another class.”
The Spring Health Fair is part of the Healthy Nyeland Acres multilingual program, a program to promote health equity in Nyeland Acres. A shocking 46% of residents in Nyeland Acres are uninsured. Healthy Nyeland Acres aims to build trust by partnering with agencies and inviting them to the community. This program is being funded by a fellowship grant that was awarded to Brenda Heredia by The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County with generous support from Nyeland Promise.
About Nyeland Promise — Nyeland Promise was designed to transform Nyeland Acres into a community filled with hope and pride. Nyeland Acres is a Disadvantaged Unincorporated Community as defined by Senate Bill 244. Nyeland Promise is founded by, and led by residents of Nyeland Acres. For more information, visit www.NyelandPromise.com .
About The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County
The Social Justice Fund for Ventura County funds and empowers future leaders
promoting fairness, equity, human & environmental rights in our community. For more information, visit www.socialjusticefundvc.org
About the California Healthy Places Index — The California Healthy Places Index, developed by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California and visualized by Axis Maps, is a powerful tool to explore the community conditions that impact life expectancy. We created the HPI to disrupt structural inequities by using data to create change. The HPI helps prioritize public and private investments, resources, and programs in neighborhoods where they are needed most.