January 27, 2022

During a time of school closures, online learning, and increasing screen time, it is more important than ever to prioritize children literacy rates and the importance of books, by giving children and their parents the tools they need.

TVHC, in partnership with Hayward Promise Neighborhood, 4Cs of Alameda County, and the Hayward Public Library, hosted a mobile library on Tuesday, January 4^th at the TVHC Firehouse Clinic.

TVHC is working with the mobile library Curbie, to push literacy in the community and aims to get children signed up for library cards and provide them with free books to read while also educating through interactive games and quizzes — teaching them the importance of vaccines, personal hygiene, and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle.

The Curbie program is a part of a larger effort by TVHC to push for increased community education and literacy. Through the Promotores with Curbie, families are provided information about the clinic including COVID vaccines for kids and parents, helping new patients sign up for health insurance through Covered CA, capturing eligibility for Family Support Services, and referring unsheltered families to housing resources.

“We need to vaccinate children five and older now, so when kids come here to play the game setup, we try to teach them about the vaccine,” says Carolina Arroyo Solveson, Community Empowerment Liaison. “We try to teach them, in a fun and interactive way that helps them understand why the vaccine is important.”

Carolina says that through educating children on the vaccine, she hopes to not make them afraid of it and instead familiarize themselves with it.

“This is a great thing to have,” says Carolina. “We are able to screen families for services while giving kids the opportunity to get books while they are here, so they don’t have to go to the library, which is usually very far away.”

The Curbie mobile library will make several stops throughout Hayward in 2022 and will continue to work with TVHC at our Firehouse and Silva clinics.