On a Saturday morning this November, the parking lot at Percy L. Julian School in south Phoenix will fill with families, music, and the smell of something good. It will be the 10th year the Equality Health Foundation (EHF) has hosted its Healthy Fall Festival there, in partnership with the Roosevelt school district, and more than 3,000 families are expected [4]. Many will come for the food and the kids’ activities, and we are glad they do. What happens alongside is what we most want to share.
What really happens at the festivals
The festivals are much more than a meet and greet. They are the most hands-on example we have of what a community health foundation can do, because for one morning they bring everyone in the chain of care into the same place. Health plans, primary care practices, community organizations, and the members they all serve are standing a few steps from one another, and the work that usually travels from a plan to a provider to a member over many months can happen face to face.
When attendees arrive, they receive a festival passport that guides them to the booths and partners on site. At those booths, our community health workers can look up a member in CareEmpower®, our care coordination platform, to see which screenings and checkups that member is due for, and each participating health plan and provider network has access to its own records as well. For members of participating health plans, that turns a morning out into a chance to take care of the health measures that matter most before the year ends, and to head into the holiday season in better health.
Much of that care can be completed right there, including breast cancer and cervical cancer screenings, dental checkups, blood pressure checks, blood sugar (A1c) testing, and kidney health testing. Our community health workers record completed care in CareEmpower on site, so that it counts for the member, for their provider, and for their health plan. Banner is bringing its mobile mammography bus to the Phoenix festival, where Arizona Medicaid members with Banner coverage can book a time in advance.
It is also a morning for local nonprofits and health organizations. Many of them set up alongside us, and for some it is their most direct opportunity all year to meet the families they exist to serve.
For our provider and health plan partners, all of this comes at the moment it matters most. The final weeks of the year are when practices and plans are working hardest to help members complete the screenings and checkups they are due for, and a festival brings that care to members who might not otherwise make it into an office before December ends.
Turning a screening into a next step
A blood pressure reading or a glucose check at a folding table is a beginning rather than an end, and a high reading only helps when someone is there to help with what comes after it. For a family without a regular provider, that next step is often the hardest one.
In both cities, families whose provider or health plan works with Equality Health can lean on our Care Team for that step. Care Specialists help people schedule appointments, coordinate care, and connect with the right services at the right time. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted members of the community who meet people where they are, guide them through health and social services, and connect them with resources for food, housing, transportation, and emotional support [8], [9]. The conversation may begin under a tent, and we hope it continues in a provider’s office.
The first health conversation of the year
More than one in 10 people in the United States do not have a usual place to go for medical care [1]. Without one, care tends to happen in pieces, with an urgent care visit when a fever will not break, a stop at the pharmacy when there is time, and nothing at all in the months when everyone feels fine. The visits that matter most when nothing is wrong are the easiest ones to let slide. Those are the families we have in mind when we plan a festival. EHF works to level the healthcare playing field in culturally diverse and underserved communities [2], and our health festivals bring neighbors together with resources, health education, and screenings, and send families home with nutritious food [3], [6]. For some of the people who come, it may be the first conversation about their family’s health that they have had all year.
In Phoenix on Saturday, November 14
Our festival season begins in Phoenix on Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m. to noon at Percy L. Julian School, 2149 E. Carver Drive [4]. Admission is free, the day runs in English and Spanish, and everyone is welcome [4]. Families can look forward to immunizations and vaccines, health education and screenings, information about community resources, and entertainment, kids’ activities, raffles, and giveaways [4]. As part of feeding the community, families can also take home a healthy bag with a turkey and produce while supplies last [5]. Holding it at a neighborhood school puts the festival where families already are. If you live nearby, we would love to see you there, and we hope you will bring the whole family and tell a neighbor.
In Houston on Saturday, November 21
One week later, the festival comes to Houston on Saturday, November 21, from 9 a.m. to noon at the M.O. Campbell Center, 1865 Aldine Bender Road, which we host together with Aldine Independent School District [7]. Admission is free, the morning runs in English and Spanish, and everyone is welcome. Families will find immunizations, screenings, health education, and community resource information, along with a healthy bag with a turkey and produce, one per family while supplies last [7].
How you can be part of it
If your practice cares for families in south Phoenix or the Aldine area of Houston, we would be grateful if you would let them know about the festivals, and welcome the call that may come afterward as the second half of a conversation that has already begun. Community organizations, clinics, and practices that would like to offer screenings or resources at a booth can reach EHF at ehfevents@equalityhealthfoundation.org, and local businesses will find sponsorship details on the festival page [7].
By the following Monday, the parking lots will be parking lots again. What we hope will last is the connection, because a family who met a health worker, completed a screening, and learned where to turn has every reason to come back for the kind of steady care that does not wait for something to go wrong. Thank you to the volunteers, sponsors, school districts, health plans, and neighbors who make these mornings possible. We hope to see you there.
References
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. “FastStats: Access to Health Care.” Percent of persons with a usual place to go for medical care: 88.6% (2024). Page last reviewed June 10, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/access-to-health-care.htm (accessed September 11, 2026).
2. Equality Health Foundation. Home page (mission). https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/ (accessed September 11, 2026).
3. Equality Health Foundation. “Programs and Initiatives” (Health Festivals). https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/programs-and-initiatives/ (accessed September 11, 2026).
4. Equality Health Foundation. Healthy Fall Festival, Phoenix event page (10th annual; Saturday, November 14, 2026, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.; Percy L. Julian School, 2149 E. Carver Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85040; in partnership with the Roosevelt school district; more than 3,000 families; free admission; English and Spanish; attendee offerings). https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/festival/healthy-fall-festival-phoenix/ (accessed September 11 and 21, 2026).
5. Equality Health Foundation. “Healthy Fall Festival 2026” festival hub page (turkey giveaway: limited quantity, while supplies last). https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/festival/ (accessed September 11, 2026).
6. Equality Health Foundation. “Health Festivals” (immunizations, health education sessions, and biometric and diabetes screenings). https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/health-festivals/ (accessed September 11, 2026).
7. Equality Health Foundation. Healthy Fall Festival, Houston event page (Saturday, November 21, 2026, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.; M.O. Campbell Center, 1865 Aldine Bender Rd., Houston, TX 77032; organized with Aldine School District; attendee offerings; contact and sponsorship details). https://www.equalityhealthfoundation.org/festival/healthy-fall-festival-houston/ (accessed September 11, 2026).
8. Equality Health. “Meet Your Equality Health Care Team.” Member flyer, November 2025, p. 1.
9. Equality Health. “Meet Your Equality Health Care Team.” Member flyer, Houston edition, December 2025, p. 1.
