BUCKLAND — The fourth annual West County Community Resource Fair saw an abundance of local organizations gather in the Mohawk Trail Regional School gymnasium on Thursday for an afternoon of conversation and making connections.
The event, organized by the nonprofit Mary Lyon Foundation, allowed attendees to connect directly with service providers offering assistance related to food access, healthcare, education, employment, senior services and other needs. On Thursday, residents made their way around the tables and spoke with representatives from organizations such as Colrain Food For All, the Community Health Center of Franklin County, and the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts.
One of these organizations was LifePath, a Greenfield-based nonprofit that serves people with disabilities, the elderly and their caregivers in western and central Massachusetts. Martha Maloney, who works with the nonprofit’s money management program, said events like the West County Community Resource Fair allow LifePath to connect with residents.
“One of the things that we do with our outreach here is that we let families know what we can provide to different members of the family,” Maloney said. “Somebody might have a grandmother that needs a little bit of help paying their bills … and sometimes younger generations don’t know about that, so we’re here to offer up information that we have.”
In addition to connecting with the residents of Franklin County, Maloney said that another goal of LifePath’s was to connect with representatives from fellow organizations that are also offering services.
“I talked to somebody at The Brick House [Community Resource Center], and to know that they’re still doing the good work that they’re doing, it kind of gives us all a lift,” Maloney said, referencing a Turners Falls-based organization.
It wasn’t just social service nonprofits that were in attendance at the resource fair, as Big Y Pharmacy and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) led a vaccine clinic that gave out flu shots and COVID-19 boosters to those who registered.
Other FRCOG representation included Regional Public Health Nurse Meg Ryan, who stood with a mannequin referred to as “No-Tick Nick,” offering residents who passed by informational cards about the appearance of different ticks that can be found in Franklin County and how to protect themselves from tick bites. FRCOG’s Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Coordinator Jen Audley was also in attendance, asking resource fair attendees to fill out the Community Health Equity Survey.
“[It’s] a statewide survey that’s open until the middle of November,” Audley explained. “It’s really important for us to get as many people in our region to fill it out as possible, because this is one of the main ways that the state learns about people’s health needs.”
Representatives from the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts viewed the West County Community Resource Fair as a chance to hear the needs of Franklin County residents.
“Many food pantries and meal sites in Franklin County are food bank members … meaning the majority of their food comes from the food bank,” said Kate Pousont Scarborough, a support coordinator with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. “We like to come here to connect with the community, to hear what’s going on.”
While the main goal of Thursday’s event was to connect residents and families with these social service organizations, activities for children, such as face painting, were available in the school library. Buckland resident Angela Schatz said her children were the driving force behind her attendance at the resource fair.
“My children heard about it, and they were interested in the opportunities and resources for kids. There were free books, there’s face painting and a lot of educational material for kids,” Schatz said. “Everyone’s friendly, hopeful and they’re very good with children.”
Hawley resident Lisa Johnson shared that this was the first West County Community Resource Fair she’s attended, and while she hadn’t yet made the rounds to the different booths, she learned about programs offered in the Hawlemont Regional School District.
