Back-to-school season has begun in the Bronx, including one event in the South Bronx on August 13 where families received free groceries, backpacks, school supplies and even haircuts.
The Office of the Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson and Montefiore Einstein once again partnered to host their annual Health and Literacy fair, this year at P.S./M.S. 29 The Melrose School. The fair intertwines programming, giveaways, and resources for both youth well-being and literacy programs.
Angel Gaud Jr., Deputy Director of Education & Youth Services at the Office of the Bronx Borough President, emphasized that despite the many free giveaways – including 400 free meals and 800 bookbags – the event hopes to inform Bronx residents of certain opportunities and highlight the importance of youth literacy.
“I’m hoping they really just take advantage of all the resources. It’s about 60 vendors out there right now just providing different resources for the community,” Gaud Jr. said.
One of the many resources present at the event was the New York City Children’s Center, a state-run mental health facility that serves youth in the NYC area.
“We are able to treat people who are documented or undocumented, who have insurance or don’t have insurance. So those are not, should not be, barriers to access to good care,” social worker Jennifer Lawton said.
Bronx Borough President Gibson recognized all the work that educators do to prioritize literacy skills in youth, despite the increasing amount of challenges and external forces which make it difficult.
“All of our teachers and educators and administrators, supers, principals, AP’s, the entire village that it takes to run our public schools. We appreciate you. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for your work every day, and we look forward to a new school year ahead,” Gibson said.
Senior Vice President of Community Affairs Montefiore Einstein, Marcos A. Crespo, shared that Montefiore is proud to sponsor events like this and uplift the local community.
“We know we can’t get to every single family, but we are reminding everyone that, at the end of the day, that’s what community work is about. We help who we can, we do as much as we can, and we ensure that everybody understands that we’re there for them, with love, with open arms, and open hands, whatever we can, to give back,” Crespo said.
Brandon Vernon, who works with the Office of Family and Community Empowerment, helped distribute free children’s books at the event. Vernon considered the importance of literacy in all aspects of everyday life, including even driving and quickly understanding road signals.
“If you don’t really have that understanding, you don’t really have much. And it starts here. So we might as well be here using taxpayer dollars to give them back to the people who pay their taxes,” Vernon said.
Talia Haviv, Senior Child Life Specialist at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, helped entertain children at the event, while providing their caregivers with key information about how child specialists make healthcare easier to understand for youth.
“We want everyone to know that when you come into a hospital, you can ask for a child specialist, and we basically are helping the family and the children throughout their experience,” Haviv said.
Borough President Gibson also recognized one of her interns, Annalys De La Rosa, with a leadership award for an exceptional presentation on how gun violence amongst young people in the Bronx can be addressed.
“We’re giving them opportunities to learn so that they build skills, so that when they go back to school, high school and/or college, they’re even more prepared,” Gibson explained, praising her interns.
Attendee Katherine Hernandez appreciated the help of free supplies and groceries, as well as the many resources offered.
“Stuff that usually, if you were to go to a clinic, they’re not going to give you, but here they give you more resources and tell you, ‘Hey, you didn’t know you qualified for this,’” Hernandez said.
Ultimately, Crespo considers the event a key part of Montefiore’s mission to serve the community, recognizing that a good education is pivotal to good health.
“It’s all about understanding the biggest impact we can make in our communities is making sure our children are on the right path,” Crespo said.
