By Caroline Hansen
Entrance to Pima Community College West Campus. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
The Social Services Education (SSE) Department at Pima Community College hosts the ARC Health and Wellness Fair semesterly at the West Campus. It is a chance for students and staff at PCC to talk to a variety of service providers from the college’s ecosystem as well as many from the Tucson community.
Rachael Lord, MSW, is on the faculty of the SSE Department. She and Susan Ho, MSW, oversee PCC’s ARC Food Pantry that serves thousands of students yearly.
“After Covid Susan and I decided that we needed to bring resources onto campus so students could ask questions and interact in person with representatives from agencies that serve the community. Susan and I brainstormed and decided to run the project through ARC and it’s grown ever since,” Lord said.
Rachael Lord and Susan Ho welcoming visitors to the fair. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
The fall fair in October had a great turnout. Visitors were given a Bingo card they could get stamped at different vendor tables. Once their card was full, they were treated to free pizza and soda. This was a creative way to get people over their shyness and interact with the visiting community agencies. To add to the fun, there was plenty of swag to be had along with potentially life-saving information and resources.
“We provide free HIV, Hepi, and STI testing, as well as treatment for that, which is also important because last we checked, Arizona was number three in STI rates, and number 12 or 13 for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia. Most people think they must have symptoms to have anything, but most don’t ever get symptoms so they don’t get tested,” said Althea Do with Southern Arizona Aids Foundation (SAAF).
Do also said SAAF does not run treatments through insurance so the agency is able to offer services like gender affirming care, services other agencies aren’t allowed to offer anymore under the Trump administration. SAAF also offers medicated assisted treatments for substance use. For more information go to www.saaf.org.
The Pima Dental Studies Clinic Manager also hosted a table. They wanted to spread word that the clinic is open to the public and basic dental services are offered at a reduced rate. The clinic is at the West Campus in the Science Building, room K259. Email wcdental@pima.edu or call 520-206-6090 for more information or to make an appointment.
Pima Dental Clinic table. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
Dair Garcia and Mason Stark were at the helm of the ARC Food Pantry table, handing out snack bags and providing people with information about the services ARC provides.
Dair Garcia and Mason Stark at the ARC table. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
“We help students with food insecurity. Students can come in once a week to pick up a bag of food and the bags are fully customizable. We do that in order to prevent food waste,” Garcia said. “We always need help so we are always accepting applications for volunteers.”
Liberty Partnership in Kino Neighborhoods Council (LPKNC) was making its first appearance at the health and wellness fair. The organization’s website is www.lpknc.org and their phone number is 520-488-3200.
Volunteers at the LPKNC Table. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
“We’re a community nonprofit organization that does prevention, education, for youth, primarily in elementary, middle, and high schools, facilitating workshops to share information about substance abuse and misuse, prevention, mental health, and suicide prevention. We facilitate a number of evidence-based workshops, and we also do one on one intervention,” said Ryan, one of the volunteer spokespersons.
At the PCC Military and Veterans Services table I got to say hi to one of my classmates from Spanish, Daniel Rowland, who works at the Downtown Campus Veterans Center. He, Jacob Marcotte and Robert Badilla were manning the information table at the fair.
Student Veterans (right to left) Daniel Rowland, Robert Badilla and Jacob Marcotte. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
“We are here making people aware of Pima’s resources for veterans. We have centers at all of the campuses. You can also follow our Instagram to stay up to date with our activities,” Marcotte said.
Badilla said being connected with other veterans has made college life easier to adjust to.
“It’s nice to connect with like minded people and just share stories and share each other’s difficulties going through school,” he said.
“None of us came to school right out of college. Most of us had four, six, in my case, 14 years and a couple of careers before coming here,” Rowland said. “So being able to come to a spot where the people have an idea what you’ve been through, it allows you to have that camaraderie you lost after leaving the military.”
Follow Pima SVA on Instagram @pimasva.
- Downtown Campus Veteran Center, RV-150, 520-206-7049
- East Campus Veteran Space, E4-406, 520-206-7412
- Desert Vista Veteran Space Pueblo, E-101, 520-206-5324
- West Campus Veteran Space, CG-28, 520-206-3011
- Northwest Campus Veteran Space, D-205, 520-206-2253
- Aviation Technology Center Veteran Space, Hangar 1 RM114, 520-206-5947
Ambur Wilkerson wears many hats at Pima College. At the fair she was wearing her TRIO hat. Wilkerson is a Student Support Services Program Coordinator for TRIO.
“TRIO falls under the umbrella of health and wellness because we support students academically, but we also believe in supporting them as whole human beings. There is so much students deal with that affects their mental health,” said Wilkerson. “So at TRIO we really believe in connecting you with resources so you feel supported in every part of your life.”
Ambur Wilkerson at the TRIO table. Photo by Caroline Hansen.
To reach out to TRIO Student Support Services, visit PCC’s Desert Vista Campus (room B136) or email Wilkerson at awilkerson7@pima.edu for more information.