Tiffany Jarmuzek (right) of Altoona learns about services provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Blair County volunteers Brenda Brown (left) and Beth Rhine during the health and safety event at the H.O.P.E. Drop-In Center in Altoona on Friday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

The Health, Opportunity, Purpose and Empowerment Drop-In Center held its first Health and Safety fair on Friday afternoon, allowing attendees to connect with a variety of supportive services and local organizations.

According to Pamela Townsend, the center’s executive director, the fair aims to “provide resources for the individuals who attend the H.O.P.E. Drop-In Center, to give them some ideas of what’s out there that they can tap into for recovery.”

The center is an Altoona-based nonprofit that connects people with services such as mental health counseling, substance-use disorder treatment and job search support.

In spite of the dreary weather, the event was “very well attended,” Townsend said. The event, which ran from 1 to 4 p.m. at the center’s Ninth Avenue location, saw people attend from across Blair County.

The fair featured free refreshments and representatives from Community Care Behavioral Health, the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor Vocational Rehabilitation Office, among others.

While the center’s staff already connect clients with the services represented, the fair format allows attendees to make unexpected connections, Townsend said.

“It gives them opportunities to (meet) services they may not already be tapped into,” she said.

According to Erik Whisker, a community ambassador for Primary Health Network, he collaborated with H.O.P.E. staff to curate a selection of organizations whose services “may be the most applicable to the participants.”

“The whole idea is ‘hey, this is Blair County, this is the community, do you know your resources,'” Whisker said.

Briana Cunningham attended the fair representing the Blair Drug and Alcohol Partnerships, which helps people dealing with substance-use disorders find appropriate treatment.

“We set up at these sort of events across Blair County just to get our services out; we do a lot of events in the community,” Cunningham said.

According to Cunningham, as “prevention specialists,” BDAP staff supply Narcan, medication lock boxes and informational pamphlets to Blair County residents, as well as give presentations in school districts.

“We thought this would be a good health fair to attend and get our message out there on what we can do to help people,” Cunningham said.

While Jennifer Hall is originally from Annapolis, Md., she now lives in Altoona, where she utilizes the H.O.P.E. center’s services.

“This is my everyday place — this is where I come everyday,” Hall said. “Because when you come here everybody makes you feel welcome, you don’t feel like an outsider.”

Hall was able to go back to school to pursue her bachelor’s degree in psychology through Colorado Christian University with the help she received from H.O.P.E. staff, she said.

“My ultimate goal … is to become a licensed social worker,” Hall said.

According to Hall, since so many of the staff and attendees at the center have “been through things,” it creates a common bond.

“We don’t sit in judgment, we help one another, we’re here for each other, it’s like one big family,” she said.

Like Hall, Altoona native Lewis Swope is a regular at the H.O.P.E. center.

“I come here all the time,” he said. “They have dinners here, and they have snacks on Tuesdays and Fridays, I come here for a couple hours just to do that.”

According to Whisker, the strong turnout for the first health and safety fair has led H.O.P.E. staff to consider hosting future installments.

“I think we were actually talking about doing something in the fall,” Whisker said, “what we’ll do after this one is regroup and see what’s working and what we need to improve on, advertising is obviously a big part of it, and just go from there.”

Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.