Building Healthier Communities in East Chicago

On July 29, Community Advocates of Northern Indiana (CANI) had the privilege of joining HealthLinc and other local partners at the East Chicago Community Health Fair, part of HealthLinc’s 2025 National Health Center Week celebration. Each year, HealthLinc hosts a series of community health fairs across Lake County from East Chicago and Gary to Michigan City and Valparaiso to bring essential health and wellness resources directly to families in the places they call home.

The East Chicago fair created a space where families could connect with resources while enjoying a day together. Attendees had the opportunity to receive no-cost health screenings and well-child checkups, as well as participate in raffles and enjoy food and giveaways. For children, the fair was especially memorable—balloon animals, face painting, and free school supplies added a layer of fun and excitement.

CANI was proud to contribute to the event by providing BMI and Behavioral Health screenings. These simple but important services support early awareness and detection, helping individuals better understand their health and empowering them to take proactive steps. By focusing on both physical and mental health, our team was able to connect with families in meaningful ways and reinforce the idea that wellness is not just about one dimension of care but about supporting the whole person.

Partnerships like ours with HealthLinc are vital to our mission. At CANI, we work to empower communities through education, advocacy, and resources, and events like this give us the chance to do that in real time, face-to-face with the people we serve. Every screening, every conversation, and every child who left with school supplies represents progress toward a healthier, stronger community.

We are deeply grateful to HealthLinc for continuing to invite us into this important work, and to every community member who showed up to take part. Your presence and engagement remind us that this mission is about more than one organization: it’s about all of us, working together to make wellness accessible and sustainable for everyone.

Together, we can keep building a healthier future, one connection at a time.