LEWISTON — Local grassroots organizations expect a large turnout for Lewiston’s first ever Human Rights & Health Fair on Saturday, Aug. 29, organized by the New Mainers Public Health Initiative (NMPHI), Neighborhood Housing League (NHL), Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services (MIRS) and the Southern Maine Workers’ Center (SMWC).

The event, to be held from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Drouin Field, Walnut Street, will include a free clinic, food, music, speakers and family-friendly activities.

The fair follows months of state and city-wide debate around asylum seekers’ access to General Assistance benefits for rent, food and medicine. The release of a new report naming some of Lewiston’s most exploitative landlords also highlighted barriers residents encounter in seeking affordable and safe housing.

Organizer for the Neighborhood Housing League, Melissa Dunn, names housing justice as a public health issue, and cites foregrounding conversations on race and class as essential to tackling problems. “Poor housing contributes to ailing health. Safe and healthy housing promotes better physical and mental well being, especially for our children,” said Dunn.

Speakers, including local public school students, will specifically address human rights issues of health care, housing and education for all. The event will celebrate ongoing work of grassroots organizers and community members, and address human rights issues facing working class and lower-income residents.

The day’s program includes a free clinic, with basic health screenings provided by staff from the B Street Health Center, and free HIV and hepatitis-C testing performed by the Health Equity Alliance. Community groups will participate in a resource fair to connect residents with avenues for organizing, advocacy and direct services.

Cait Vaughan, SMWC organizer for the Health Care is a Human Right campaign, said, “I hear people in Lewiston making the same connections over and over again between health care justice and the need for housing and to empower young people. We want to connect the dots — these are human rights issues, and there’s power in naming that.”

The clinic will run from 3:30 to 6:30, with a half hour of speakers beginning at 4 p.m.