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Wyatt Hudson playing one of the many games for kids at this years health fair. (Reporter Photos/Keith McCoy)

A crowd bustled around the Pelham Recreation Center on June 12 at a community health fair that was designed to promote both positive relationships between fathers and children, and the community with law enforcement. (Reporter Photos/Keith McCoy)

A crowd bustled around the Pelham Recreation Center on June 12 at a community health fair that was designed to promote both positive relationships between fathers and children, and the community with law enforcement.

By NATHAN HOWELL | Staff Writer

PELHAM – A crowd bustled around the Pelham Recreation Center on June 12 at a community health fair that was designed to promote both positive relationships between fathers and children, and the community with law enforcement.

This community event was created through a partnership between Central Alabama Wellness, a mental wellness organization, and Vineyard Family Services, a family-resource organization. The organizations also received support for the event from Pelham Impact and Compact.

According to Central Alabama Wellness Prevention Director Zina Cartwell, the organization put this event together as a way to focus on the health of the community through its Be Well Shelby campaign.

“We all came together with the goal of addressing the mental wellness of the Pelham community,” Cartwell explained. “We all worked together to highlight the resources that would have a direct positive impact on the residents of Pelham.”

This came in the form of a number of booths and vendors that gave out informational materials to those who might need health or resources. The included resources for older Americans, veterans, substance abuse, pet owners, orthopedics and others. A number of service organizations like Boy Scout Troop 404 and the Matthew Blount American Legion Post 555 were also present to connect with the community.

The event itself also served as a way to address those needs.

“We believe that this event can create and promote mental wellness just by being able to get out and enjoy your time with other people, especially after the last year,” Cartwell explained. “We had something here for the entire family to do, which made that a lot easier.”

It is not a ubiquitous fact, but many dads have been known to enjoy car shows, which is why Vineyard Family Services helped to sponsor the “Cops and Cars” show for the event.

According to VFS Director Derick Williams, it was designed as a way to promote healthy relationships between fathers and their children in a relaxed outdoor environment, and also provide meaningful connections between the community in law enforcement.

“Having the law enforcement agencies bring their cars out to the event helps to show how important this collaboration is. We are trying to use this event to connect groups with our programs like Wise Advisors, FIT DAD Program, Keep Your Love On Moms’ Program, and the Backpack Buddies Program,” Williams said.

Central Alabama Wellness plans to hold more of these events in the future. More information about them and their services can be found at Centralalabamawellness.org.

More information about VFS and their services can be found at Vfsdads.com.

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