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SPRINGVILLE — Utah is tied as the state with the fifth-highest rate of uninsured children in the country. It also has one of the highest uninsured rates for Hispanic children.
A Día de los Niños event this weekend is geared toward closing that gap by connecting families with health resources. The event, hosted by Utah County nonprofit Centro Hispano, will feature booths ranging from low-income medical insurance and health facilities to Head Start services and groups that assist with prenatal planning. Each booth will have bilingual staff and resources as well as free carnival games for children.
"We know that because of cultural barriers and language barriers, our community is not reaching out to the resources that are available to them," Centro Hispano spokesman Abraham Hernandez said. "It's essentially giving them that warm handoff and letting them know that these are things that you have access to. We want to make sure that our children are insured, that they're safe and taken care of."
Centro Hispano has held spring health fairs for almost a decade. However, in recent years the nonprofit opted to change the event to a celebration of Día de los Niños to be more culturally relevant to the community. The day is celebrated in Mexico each April, and a number of other Latin Americans celebrate it at other times of the year.
Hernandez, who has been with Centro Hispano for nine years, said he's seen events like the Día de los Niños not only help educate families but also help keep traditions alive.
"At the end of events, I always have someone who comes up to me and tells me, 'I moved to this country, my kids are growing up and I feel like they're losing a connection to their past, to their culture — and events like this help us get back to that," he said. "I think it teaches them, 'This is what I used to do as a little girl' or 'This is how your abuela used to do things.'"
The event will be held on Saturday at the Springville Library from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
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