District 17 state Rep. Cynthia Borrego teamed up with the City of Albuquerque’s Family & Community Services Department and the Rio Grande Community Foundation for the second annual Health Fair and Clothing Drive Tuesday afternoon at Taylor Ranch Community Center.
Various ways of helping those in need
The event highlighted community partnerships to support public health for the housed and unhoused this winter by collecting socks, jackets and hygiene items since early December for shelter residents. The Roadmap to Health bus, created by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), was on site to provide free cholesterol and biometric health screenings.
“Our community is at its healthiest when we are working together. The Health Fair and Clothing Drive was a wonderful opportunity for people to come together to not only support people experiencing homelessness, but also to have a better understanding of their own personal health,” said Family & Community Services Director Carol Pierce.
Mike Athens, president and CEO of Rio Grande Credit Union, presented a check for a $1,000 donation to the Westside Emergency Housing Center.
“I am so grateful to PhRMA, the Rio Grande Credit Union, and the City of Albuquerque, for coming together to bring an amazing health event to my State Legislative District 17,” Borrego said. “The health services offered by PhRMA will give individuals without health insurance an opportunity to access free care before the holidays, and the extra warmth and love for our unhoused community will help endure our cold New Mexico winter weather.”