CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Free food, free haircuts and a room full of health help will be waiting in Chillicothe next week, as the Ross County Health District marks National Rural Health Day with a free community resource event on Thursday, Nov. 19, according to the health district’s announcement reported by J News Network.
The event runs from noon to 4 p.m. at the Salvation Army, 171 E. Fourth St. in Chillicothe, the health district said. No appointment and no cost are attached — residents can simply walk in during the four-hour window.
Along with the free food and haircuts, the health district said the event will offer health, substance-use and behavioral-health resources, putting several kinds of help in one room for residents who might otherwise have to chase them down office by office across the county.
The health district is presenting the event with Equitas Health and the All The Things Outreach Group, according to the announcement. The Salvation Army hosts it on East Fourth Street, a short walk from downtown Chillicothe.
National Rural Health Day is observed on the third Thursday of November each year and was founded in 2011 by the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health to honor the community-minded spirit of rural America and to spotlight the unique health care challenges rural residents face, according to the organization.
Those challenges are familiar in Ross County and across southern Ohio, where getting to care can mean a long drive, a short supply of providers and hard choices about time off work. An event that pairs everyday needs like a meal and a haircut with health and behavioral-health resources is designed to lower every one of those barriers at once. Organizers say events like this also connect residents with local groups they may not know exist, so a single visit can turn into ongoing support long after the afternoon ends.
Residents who want help with health coverage questions, substance-use support or behavioral-health services — or who simply could use a free lunch and a haircut — can head to the Salvation Army between noon and 4 p.m. on Nov. 19. It is one afternoon, in one place, with the help already gathered.