On September 25, 2021, Lyon County Human Services, Boys and Girls Club of the Truckee Meadows, and the City of Fernley hosted the Fernley Community Connections Expo at the Out of Town Park in Fernley. The goal was to provide a way to connect Fernley residents to local opportunities and available services, while they enjoyed free lunch and family friendly activities.

The event featured presentations by local organizations, opportunities to explore community resources, volunteer opportunities and job resources, and health and wellness information. In addition, Boys and Girls Club offered a free BBQ lunch for families with games and a bounce house.

Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties (HCC) was one of dozens of participating organizations. Sabrina Peck, HCC’s alcohol, tobacco and other drug use Prevention Coordinator and Kodi Dettling, HCC’s Rural Outreach Grant Project Manager, were excited to share information with the community. They reached about 100 adults and youths and shared details about resources, services and health and wellness.

To emphasize HCC’s commitment to increasing access to dentistry services, they distributed 100 free tooth brushes with tooth paste, and demonstrated to children the most effective way to brush their teeth, with the help of their dinosaur model with “teeth.”

Kodi and Sabrina also distributed Tobacco Quit Line cards for adults and youths (1-800-QUIT-NOW or 800-784-8669). To bring home the message about health effects of tobacco use, they displayed a jar of tar to help people understand how tobacco effects human lungs. They gave out pamphlets about tobacco cessation programs and information about how to quit tobacco as well.

In addition, Sabrina and Kodi gave out refrigerator magnets on suicide prevention resources for youth.

Sabrina said, “We made a lot of community connections. Hope to do this again in the near future!”