The Belle Haven Community Campus hosted its eighth annual Community Resource Fair on Saturday, inviting residents to familiarize themselves with the numerous services and resources available in the local community. Participants engaged with a variety of booths, food, and activities throughout the day.
Rondale Howard, Menlo Park Library and Community Services Supervisor, emphasized that many residents do not always have easy access to local resources. Howard explained that the organizations he chose to invite had to hit the four main areas of key focus he thought were a necessity in the community: education, housing, sustainability, and work resources.
“Being that the Belle Haven community has always been an underserved community, bringing it [resources] to their front door is something that I wanted to do, and something that I was super passionate about,” Howard said. “The main focus for the event is to make sure that the people get the accessibility to programs and organizations and non-profit opportunities that they might not have known of.”
Many organizations participated in the event, ranging from Belle Haven Action to the American Red Cross and the Girl Scouts of North America. Tables were set up so participants could easily walk to each stand and learn about a variety of resources. “We’re providing information about our different bus routes, including metro and our micro transit called Ride Plus, which operates in Belle Haven,” SamTran’s bus routes representative Charlsie Chang said. “We really move people around through San Mateo County, and a lot of our riders are really dependent on us.”
Adam Patterson, a Belle Haven community and housing developer, provided information on housing services in the community. “Housing is certainly a hot topic, but if someone is interested in building an ADU (Accessory dwelling unit), it’s a great opportunity to provide information directly to folks and answer questions,” Patterson said. “It might be intimidating to come into City Hall, but here it’s very relaxing and open.”
Community members found the event informative and interesting, helping them become more aware of what is going on in the community. “The Willow Road one is my favorite stand here today because that directly impacts my life. I use that road all the time. I walk there and see all the drivers going from Dumbarton to Willow Road. That route is very congested,” participant Anna said. The most helpful part of the event for Anna was seeing local projects being built. “I have a kid and another one on the way, so I like to learn about small preschool programs and educational programs that Menlo Park has to offer,” she said.
Overall, the event brought the community together with helpful information on resources and services in the local area. “ It shows the community that we’re thinking about them, that we care, and that we want to make sure that they’re successful and they have the accessibility to the things that’s needed for essential living,” Howard said on the importance of the event.
