SALT LAKE CITY — Sometimes, people in Utah's Latino community are so focused on work and making ends meet, they aren't attuned to health and other resources at their disposal.
"More than anyone in the community, it's Latinos who lack information," said Gladis Rodriguez, director of Salvadoran and Latino Community in Utah, a Latino and immigrant advocacy and cultural group. "One of the causes may be that parents work a lot, they're in a factory and they don't know about all the groups that offer help in our state."
With that in mind, Rodriguez's group is teaming with an array of nonprofit health organizations to offer a health fair geared primarily to the Latino community, though all are welcome. It goes from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 1145 W. 500 South in Salt Lake City.
It's the second year Rodriguez has helped organize the event, and representatives from more than 20 organizations will be on hand. Participants can get blood pressure tests, eye tests, immunizations, information on mental health wellness and more. Reps from Holy Cross Ministries, which assists immigrants, among other things, will be on hand, as well as officials from the Salt Lake County Health Department, among many other organizations.
"Everything's free," Rodriguez said. Representatives on hand will offer information in both English and Spanish.
Last year's health fair, the first organized by the Salvadoran and Latino Community in Utah, drew around 80 people. Rodriguez hopes to draw at least double that. El Torogoz de Utah, a Salvadoran dance group, will provide entertainment.
