HE-HO! Artists' Health and Housing Fair

PITTSBURGH, PA - GPAC's inaugural Health & Housing (HE-HO) Fair for Artists, held on Saturday, November 16 from noon - 6 p.m. at the Kingsley Association, will bring hundreds of artists face-to-face with local healthcare and housing experts and providers. Through vendors and well-organized seminars, HE-HO will prepare our community of artists and their families for the forthcoming health care reform, the Affordable Care Act, and empower our creative community with the right knowledge on mortgage lending and fair housing by gaining information about buying and renovating a property.  HE-HO, free and open to the public, will offer health screenings, educational resources, seminars, one-on-one meetings, prizes, performances and hands-on activities. Child care will be available on-site. Read the full program, here.

The idea for HE-HO originated through GPAC’s Pittsburgh Artist Advisory Committee, a broad group of working artists from the Pittsburgh region who are working to identify the needs of artists, strengthening and retaining our creative community. Shares Jeffrey Carpenter, co-chair of the PAAC, “The artists asked for it and we listened. This health and housing fair is a direct result of GPAC responding to its membership and the needs of individual artists, and represents first steps in an expansive and evolving process making Pittsburgh as famous for art as it once was for steel.”

HE-HO features a homebuying workshop by Dollar Bank (event sponsor), home improvement seminars by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, and NeighborWorks will teach a homebuying education workshop.  With support from Highmark (event sponsor), vendor tables include free health screenings, while workshops offer expert advice on how to understand the Affordable Care Act and how to obtain health insurance.  Healthy Artists and Be Well! will offer resources on how to stay healthy in Pittsburgh, and PA Health Access Network and the Artists Health Insurance Resource Center (NYC) will offer expertise on obtaining healthcare.