“Mi Casa es Su Casa”

For Immediate Release

Community Resource Fair for newcomers and Spanish-speaking residents to be held in Branson

April 22, 2015, from 5 to 8 pm at Branson High School

Branson, Missouri – April 22, 2015 – “Mi casa es su casa” (my home is your home) is an upcoming health and community resource fair targeting newcomers in the Branson area, including the Spanish-speaking population. The event will bring together representatives from more than 30 different agencies and businesses from Branson and surrounding communities to share information, provide services, and begin to help community members to better understand the resources available in the Branson area.

“Newcomers, and even long-term residents, in the community do not always know where to access the basic and vital services for a healthy and full life,” said Stephen Jeanetta, of University of Missouri’s Cambio Center. “This resource fair is to help build connections in the community.”

The inaugural event will be held April 22^nd from 5pm to 8pm at the Branson High School and will include health, dental and vision screenings, representatives from public utilities, local government, legal services, banking, real estate and other resources that newcomers to the area need to understand in order to become more integrated in the community.

Free refreshments will be available, and activities and entertainment for children include a bounce house, a face painter and balloon artist. Many of the services will be available in Spanish and translators will be available to help connect people to services for those that do not have access to translation.

This project is an outcome of a research project conducted in Branson over the past four years looking at the integration of Spanish speaking immigrants into the broader community. The project explored attitudes towards community integration from the perspectives of the immigrants and the long-term, primarily English-speaking residents. The principle result was that both groups were interested in more integration. The community resource fair is a step in that direction.

For more information contact Maria Valenzuela (417-337-3611)

The best contacts are the event organizers from the University of Missouri.

–          Maria Valenzuela (417-337-3611)

–          Dr. Stephen Jeanetta ([email protected])

Other local contacts include:

–          Sister Francine Koehler, SSND – Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church (334-2928 x105)

–          City of Branson Alderman Patrick Parnell ([email protected])