Smackover City Park played host to a health fair and blood drive on Friday. Attendees were able to enjoy a summer day complete with music and food while learning about mental and physical health from the healthcare organization reps and speakers in attendance.
Smackover Youth Foundation sponsored the fair in partnership with the city.
Representatives from Medical Center of South Arkansas were on hand with two booths, offering blood pressure checks for attendees and stroke awareness information. South Arkansas Regional Health Center also had a booth on hand with mental health awareness information and a LifeShare mobile unit was on scene throughout the afternoon taking blood donations just outside Smackover City Hall.
The keynote speaker for the event was Chevon Garrard, a counselor based in Magnolia.
Garrard spoke to attendees at length about topics including suicide prevention, breaking mental health stigmas and the signs and symptoms of mental health issues.
Garrard spoke from her experience as a therapist when addressing the issue of mental health stigma.
“Sometimes people will come into my office for therapy and say ‘Ms. Chavon, I’m not crazy, I don’t need to be here.’ Getting mental health care does not mean you’re crazy, it means you are in a transitional place and want to be better, to learn new skills and better yourself. We all can benefit from that. When someone says they are diabetic or they have hypertension or high blood pressure we don’t say don’t take medicine for that,” Garrard said.
She went on to talk about the importance of encouraging loved ones to seek care if they are in need or showing signs of mental health crisis.
“You can miss the signs, because a lot of the times they are good at covering it up… When people isolate themselves, have crying spells; sometimes we even discount the words when they say them, or tell them to go pray about it or talk to their pastor. But God has given us resources that are out here,” Garrard said.
Garrard ended her speech with words of encouragement.
“Don’t stop fighting for yourselves or your friends, because it’s only when you stop fighting that you’ve lost,” Garrard.
At the end of her speech, Garrard answered several questions from the audience pertaining to issues such as helping a family member in a mental health crisis and the widespread nature of trauma in the Black community.
The Smackover Youth Foundation presented Garrard with a gift following her speech.
LaShonda Traylor spoke after Garrard with information about her Camden-based clinic, Wellness Clinic and Healthcare Consulting and topics such as COVID-19.
The event closed out with door prizes presented by health fair coordinator Betty Morgan.