The Fort Pierce Police Department will host its eighth annual Unity in Our Community event on July 15, bringing residents together with law enforcement, local organizations and service providers at the Fort Pierce Recreation Center.
The free event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include free haircuts, health screenings, autism resources, K-9 demonstrations, face painting and food.
According to event coordinator April Lee, the event began in 2017 after city officials encouraged departments to create new ways to engage residents.
"The city manager at the time wanted the department heads of the city to do something for the community and this is one of the ideas that the former chief Diane Hobley-Burney had back in 2017. So Unity in Our Community is a fun day where we introduce our residents to community resources. It's also a day where we can engage the community with law enforcement trying to strengthen those partnerships as well as just provide just a fun day," Lee said.
Lee said the event also gives officers an opportunity to interact with residents outside of emergency calls and enforcement activities, something she said helps people better understand the department's role in the community.
"Very seldom do we get to talk about all of the heroes, the extra things that they do for the community. We've had officers that have actually gone in their pockets to provide holiday gifts for some of our residents who were less fortunate. We've had some of the officers that have gone in and purchased beds because they've gone into homes where people are less fortunate and they didn't have beds," she said. "So they've done quite a few things that do not really get public attention and what this does is humanizes our officers. It allows them to interact easily with the community and have those conversations."
In addition to providing activities for families, the event is intended to connect residents with organizations that offer free or low-cost services.
"We've had health screenings at times. We have the blood bus coming, the brain bus for autism, they're coming. So I think in that just being able to introduce resources that a lot of our community don't even know is available. We have a select few of our residents that access the resources, but this opens it up to pretty much everybody who wants to be in attendance to learn," Lee said.
The event will feature free haircuts, health screenings and autism-related resources, along with K-9 demonstrations, face painting, food and other activities.
Unity in Our Community will take place July 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fort Pierce Recreation Center.