Virginia Department of Health hosts free resource fair for new and expecting families

RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Department of Health brought together more than 60 organizations and vendors Saturday at Richmond Raceway for its first-ever "Bear-y Best Start Resource Fair," offering free services and resources to families with newborns and young children.

The free event featured healthcare services including hearing and vision exams, infant CPR instruction, and resources ranging from yoga instruction to fatherhood and parenting programs to paternity establishment. The Department of Social Services and multiple other state agencies were among those represented.

Seth Austin, director of the Office of Vital Records and state registrar for the health department, said the event was designed to reach families before they feel overwhelmed.

"Everybody who's been through it knows that you can feel really alone and lost when you're having a baby, and I think this is a great opportunity for us to come together as a community to support new families, support families with young children, and let them know you're not alone," Austin said.

Austin said the fair grew directly out of a resource guide the Office of Vital Records developed and distributed to hospitals, birthing facilities, OBGYNs, pediatricians, midwives and doulas across Virginia.

"This is really the physical manifestation of this resource guide that we developed," Austin said. "It's really important to be able to connect with families early, as early as before the baby is born, to let them know what's available because sometimes if you try and connect in the moment or after the fact. There's too much chaos, there's too much going on, and it's too late."

Lisa Cauthorne, a field service representative for the Office of Vital Records, said one of the biggest challenges facing families is simply knowing what resources exist.

"So this brings the community of those resources together so that they have an opportunity to come here, gather some information, and then follow up later on with those specific vendors if they want their services or need their services or have questions," Cauthorne said.

She said the event was intentionally designed to be welcoming rather than commercial.

"Everything here is free, so they can come in, they can get a hearing exam, they can have vision exams done," Cauthorne said. "It's not just a salesy type of event."

Austin called Saturday's fair a promising start.

"This is certainly a new effort for us. We've never tried anything like this before. So far, it's been a great experience. We hope a lot of people come out and gain a lot of value from it," Austin said.

Families who were unable to attend can access the Bear-y Best Resource Guide on the Virginia Department of Health Office of Vital Records website.

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