George Library to host resource fair
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 6 months AGO
The George Library will host a resource fair Monday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with representatives from state and county agencies.
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Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | April 7, 2025 3:45 AM
GEORGE — The George Library will host a resource fair Monday, where residents of the area can get help with a variety of needs.
“The purpose of the event is to bring some much-needed health services to the service desert area that is George,” said Librarian Jeana Rushton. “(We’ll) make it available on-site so that patrons don’t have to travel, or if patrons are unable to travel, they can still have access to those resources.”
Partners that will be in attendance include the Department of Social and Health Services, Renew and the Washington Department of Licensing.
DSHS will have its mobile unit there, Rushton said, where patrons can do almost anything they could do at the office in Moses Lake.
“Each DSHS Mobile Office is staffed by specialists who can determine people’s eligibility for state and federal medical, cash and food assistance programs,” DSHS wrote on its website. “Our team processes new applications, case reviews, changes, EBT card requests and required documents. We also take applications for the Child Care Subsidy Program and forward them to the Department of Children, Youth and Families for processing.”
The Department of Licensing will be able to issue both the basic license and the enhanced license, register vehicles and take care of other paperwork, Rushton said.
“They can do everything that a regular Department of Licensing (office) can do except driving tests,” she said.
Renew, Grant County’s mental health agency, will be there, and so will Boulder, a counseling service specializing in addiction and substance abuse, Rushton said. The Grant County Health District will have representatives as well.
Most of the services that will be available are things George residents would have to drive to Ephrata or Moses Lake to do, she said, and not everybody can do that.
Rushton said this is the first time such an event has been held in George, but it probably won’t be the last.
“There are such great community partners in this area that I've actually had to turn a few partners away, and we're going to plan another event for the fall, hopefully,” she said.
George Resource Fair
11 a.m.-4 p.m. April 7
George Public Library
403 S Washington Way
Next to George Elementary
509-785-7043
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