Care Without Conditions: A Recap of Our April 13 Community Wellness Pop-Up Care Village
Thank you to Molina Healthcare for sponsoring the day and for your commitment to Minority Health Month, to The Columbus Foundation for their support through the Health Focused Funds, and to Cultivate CDC for co-hosting and for the years of work in this neighborhood that made it possible.
Milo-Grogan has a long memory. It is a neighborhood that has weathered disinvestment, displacement, and decades of being promised resources that did not always arrive. It is also a neighborhood with deep roots, good neighbors, and organizations like Cultivate CDC that have stayed and built something lasting. Minority Health Month felt like the right time to show up here, with services, for our neighbors, in a community that has been overlooked more than it has been served.
We wanted to bring a full day of resources into a neighborhood that does not have easy access to them. Actual services, in one place, at no cost, on a Monday afternoon in April. That was the goal. More than 160 guests showed up and told us the need was there. Mostly adults between 25 and 55, a strong showing of older neighbors, majority Black with representation across communities. Many were experiencing homelessness or had been. Veterans, people in recovery, people with disabilities, people with justice involvement. People we have seen before and people who found us for the first time.
What the day looked like
Many of the neighbors we saw on April 13th were not strangers to us. Some were longtime unhoused community members we know through our mobile outreach work. People who have been navigating the edges of systems for years, who know how to survive but deserve more than survival. They came for haircuts and meals and legal help and healthcare. Others came because Cultivate CDC has spent years earning trust in this neighborhood, and that trust opened doors. We are also grateful to the Milo-Grogan Community Recreation Center for welcoming us into their space and making the day possible.
Thirty-three volunteers gave their time, contributing an estimated $4,600 in value to make the day run. The MAD food truck served 231 meals, made possible in part by Molina Healthcare, whose sponsorship reflected a commitment to Minority Health Month and the people most affected by health inequity. Our stylists gave 25 free haircuts and shaves. The Dignity Market, a free pop-up shopping experience founded and run by MAD volunteers, offered clothing, shoes, hygiene supplies, and other requested items. Mt. Carmel Street Medicine saw 10 guests on-site. Partners from Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities conducted 21 vision screenings. Columbus Public Health handled car seat safety checks. Central Outreach Wellness Center offered STI and HIV testing. The Office of the Ohio Public Defender conducted 10 legal consultations, resulting in 7 expungement applications filed and fee waivers secured. A tenant rights attorney was also on-site to help guests understand their options and navigate housing-related legal questions.
Across all partner tables, hundreds of individual conversations happened that afternoon. People connected with health insurance navigators, job leads, housing resources, child support services, harm reduction supplies, and benefits enrollment. Some guests came for one thing and left with five. That is what this model is built to do.
The partnerships that made it possible
Molina Healthcare was on the ground all day, engaging with guests, offering healthcare benefit information, and running a raffle that brought some energy to the afternoon. Their support made this event possible, and we are grateful for it.
Cultivate CDC has been in Milo-Grogan. Not just present, but rooted. Their relationships in this neighborhood are why the event felt like it belonged here and not somewhere else. Hosting at the rec center was a statement about place and trust as much as it was a logistics decision.
To the more than 40 partner organizations who showed up, thank you. The depth of the lineup is what made the day work.
What we are carrying forward
Resource deserts do not fix themselves. One afternoon cannot undo decades of disinvestment. But 160 neighbors walked in and received care with dignity. That is the whole point.
Our next Pop-Up Care Village is June 15th with Franklinton Farms, focused on food security. If you want to volunteer, fund, or partner with us, we would love to have you at the table.