The Rio Arriba Community Health Council, Northern New Mexico College and local opioid addiction and recovery providers are coming together to create a free health fair and community concert at 6 p.m. on Aug. 17 at Northern New Mexico College, according to a press release.
Event co-coordinator Roger Montoya said the event is part of the launch of A New Normal.Life.
Pablo Irlando-Wildman, the creative director and campaign director of A New Normal.Life, said, when it comes to the event, “I think the underlying theme is to unite the community in support of recovery.”
Monica Griego, A New Normal.Life development director, said the Rio Arriba Community Health Council approved the creation of a multimedia public education and public health campaign in 2016 to increase awareness about opiate use disorder and overdose deaths.
“This campaign uses a variety of multimedia tools to communicate powerful messages of hope and resiliency in Northern New Mexico to a community that has been ravaged by an opioid use disorder epidemic for the last two decades,” she said. “So changing our hearts and minds to making a recovery supportive community and connecting people to resources is really what A New Normal.Life is all about.”
Public service announcement videos and a website are also part of A New Normal.Life.
Griego said Irlando-Wildman is the writer, producer and director for the videos, while she focuses on development and the art department.
“I would describe the website as a comprehensive online resource hub that really helps direct community members in northern New Mexico to resources that could be really useful” such as support groups for grandparents raising grandchildren, health insurance benefits and more, she said.
Montoya said the event on Aug. 17 has two school components: high school and elementary school — about 900 students are expected to attend.
High schoolers will cycle through different activities, including a viewing of public service announcements by A New Normal.Life, a college fair for Northern New Mexico College’s programs and a performance tent with community artists.
There will also be a private children’s concert by Ozomatli, covering topics like the health of the planet, communication with one another and community, Montoya said.
“Part of the reason I put this together is I know the value of the arts, and if one child is so inspired by Ozomatli that they become a musician, it’s worth it,” he said. “But I have a feeling we’re going to impact kids in a very profound way.”
There will also be a bounce house, giveaways and other activities for the elementary schoolers.
The event will also include a public health fair with 60 to 80 booths with sponsors, providers and nonprofits, the press release states. There will also be a public lowrider car show, food sales and an evening community concert featuring artists Ozomatli, Strings Attached, Divino and Nosotros.
The high schoolers and elementary schoolers will also have the opportunity to experience the car show and health fair, Montoya said.
Griego said there will also be a free Naloxone giveaway and training on how to use and access the emergency narcotic overdose treatment.
Española Matanza Board President Ralph Martinez said his group is helping provide food throughout the event.
Martinez, who was addicted to drugs between 2001 and 2012 and homeless between 2006 and 2012, said, “I think the overall message is health – health in the body and health in the mind. I’m hoping the message gets delivered.”
He said the event has a lot to offer, and he hopes the elementary schoolers take the time to grasp information from all of the booths and the high schoolers who are not sure what they would like to do when they graduate to take an interest in going to college. He also hopes the high schoolers view the videos with an open mind.
When asked about hosting the event, Northern New Mexico College President Rick Bailey said, “What this group of community members is trying to do is incredibly important to all of northern New Mexico. If the college in a small way can be part of it, we are happy to do it.”
Bailey, a first generation college graduate himself, said he hopes the event will “acquaint the community with what we have and what we do,” adding that the College is the most affordable college in all of the Southwest and is here to serve the community.
The college is not a cure-all, but is happy to be a part of helping create the pathway to steer people away from addictive substances, he said.
He said the event aims to “raise awareness, but the underlying goal of that is that we translate that awareness into community action.”
Bailey said he wants people to leave the event with a few things in mind.
“I want them to come away with three things: Hope for a brighter future, for all of us for our entire community,” he said. “Two, resilience. I hope people come away empowered that we can be resilient.”
The third thing he said he hopes people leave the event with is knowing the College aims to serve the community in a variety of ways, including economic development, job placement, fighting substance abuse and creating a healthier environment.
Montoya said he hopes this event brings people “a sense of hope, a sense of unity around this particular issue.”
There are over 60 community partners from the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, local banks, local casinos and elsewhere, he said. Based on the large amount of sponsors, this event is expected to happen again in the future.
Griego said, “The community pulling together on this kind of special event is so incredibly heartwarming. From elected officials to businesses to family members to people who are in recovery, it’s been an incredible journey to see what strength our community can lend to a project like ours for the benefit of reducing overdose deaths and making a recovery-friendly community.”