By Srija Srinivasan | Staff Writer

Irvington school counselors put together the first Health and Wellness Fair in the cafeteria on Apr. 2 in an effort to inform students about the support and resources around them regarding mental health and domestic safety.

“We have a lot of local agencies and resources available to support students and their families. The goal is to empower students with knowledge of community agencies and have them ask questions and have them talk directly to representatives and learn more about their programs,” said counselor Leticia Velazco.

Booths belonging to local organizations such as Boldly Me, Tri-City Health, YMCA, and more provided flyers and informational pamphlets to the students. Several of the organizations offered support programs to help promote the goal of students’ mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Students responded positively to the event. “I really liked the fair. All of the booths informed me of the free resources to maintain health and mental wellness near me. The booths also had fun and informative games,” junior, Sophia Fox said.

Ms. Velazco added that the invited agencies dealt with multiple areas of health and wellness. “We brought agencies dedicated to meeting not only the physical health needs such as nutrition, dental services, and access to medical care, but also wellness in terms of emotional and behavioral health. We want students to refocus on what is important, which is health for the students and for their families.”