‘Bringing care closer’: Community health fair in Wheaton aims to inform residents about resources

New nonprofit brings healthcare services directly to those in need

By

July 8, 2026 10:21 a.m. | Updated: July 8, 2026 10:25 a.m.

Share

Damian Lindsey was walking around the downtown Wheaton area on Tuesday when he saw WellTogether’s small shuttle bus set up in the Marian Fryer Town Plaza. He decided to peek inside and walked out having completed something he hadn’t done in years.

“I haven’t had an HIV test in who knows how many decades,” Lindsey told Bethesda Today. “But it came back great.”

Just steps from the Wheaton Metro station, the plaza was transformed into a community health and wellness clinic on Tuesday. HIV testing was among the many free screenings offered by WellTogether, a new nonprofit organization based in Rockville. 

“One of our goals is truly to bring access to care closer to the community,” said WellTogether director Tom Bever.

- Advertisement -

In addition to WellTogether’s free screenings, there were tents with representatives from county health alliances, medical care companies and other county health and wellness services.

Adam Ababu works with Community Engagement & Consulting Group Inc., which offers many free services to county residents, including free hygiene products and food, help with job searches and IT training. 

“It’s very important that you can get these things for free because a lot of these trainings [cost]      thousands of dollars,” he said. “We’re on the side of helping people and closing gaps.”

Montgomery County’s diverse population was well represented at the fair, with ethnic organizations in attendance and literature in multiple languages available. Montgomery County Councilmember Laurie-Anne Sayles (D-At-large), who was also in attendance Tuesday, told Bethesda Today that was by design.

Sponsored

Faces of Bethesda 2026

Maryland Dog Bite Laws: What Victims Need to Know About Liability and Compensation

Featured Now

“There’s nothing minor about our communities of color,” Sayles said. “When you look at our communities as a minority, then you approach it with minority resources. We need an abundance of resources to take care of the people who now make up a majority of the population.”

While Lindsey said he’s fortunate to have health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, he knows that’s not the case for everyone because of the high cost. He also sympathized with people hesitant about going to the doctor.

People “figure if they go to a doctor, they’re going to leave with 30 medications,” Lindsey said. “They want to live, but they just figure that they’re going to hear some things that they don’t want to hear because they haven’t been” to the doctor regularly.

Bever, who has 15 years of experience in mobile healthcare, says that the best way to reach people who may be skeptical about getting screened is by becoming part of their community.

Some people “may think you’re going to work on them and not work with them,” he said. “As you [become] a familiar face in their community, …. they’re going to trust you and …. their skepticism is going to decrease because of that.”

- Advertisement -

Lindsey, now officially knowing he’s HIV-negative, would recommend others be screened so they have the information to determine what’s needed to keep their health in order.

“A lot of times, our lifestyles shorten our life,” Lindsey said. “But if you found out that you had a chance to feel better just by doing a test and you got some valuable information, it would give you a choice.”

Digital Partners

Originally published at Bethesdamagazine