TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — One community event brought healthcare screenings, a voter rally, food giveaways and more to people on Tallahassee's southside.
Saturday, students and families in our community turned out for health and wellness services and a voting rally as part of a Health Fair event hosted by Tallahassee's Urban League along with other contributors.
"We're trying to get people to understand the importance of voting. We must vote in every election," Curtis Taylor of the Tallahassee Urban League said.
Taylor acknowledged the importance or getting people to the polls. It is one of the reasons why they host voter engagement events in communities on Tallahassee's Southside.
According to the Leon County Supervisors of Elections Office, only 28.5% of Black voters in Leon County participated in the August primary election.
That's another one of the reasons that community partners teamed up with the Urban League in hopes to increase the voter turnout.
Sharlene Jones attended Saturday's voter's rally.
She said she believes it's important to get the younger voters involved.
"They are the next generation that's going to take over the voting process, so we want to make sure that they're aware, they have the tools, they know where to vote, how to vote, and to encourage their friends to do the same," Jones said.
The event also offered free health care screenings, dental hygiene information, crime prevention tips and more.
Taylor believes having all of these resources available at one event is crucial.
"Crime prevention is important to our community. Voting is important to our community Health care is important to our community and of course giving back to our young people who are going to be our leaders is always important," Taylor said.
Jones is glad to see the health care screenings and learn about affordable health care options.
She says having it all in one place for the community to access is most beneficial
"A lot of times the people can't get to them so the next thing to do is come to the people and provide the resources and the awareness and the tools that they need to actually move forward and to know that they're a critical part of the community," Jones said.
