A new mini-documentary featuring Central Florida residents affected by medical debt and barriers to health care will premiere Saturday in Apopka as part of an event that will also include a panel discussion and community health resources. 

“Healthcare in the Community” will take place Saturday, Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The documentary screening begins at 11:30 a.m., followed at noon by a panel discussion and an opportunity for community members to share their own health care experiences.  

The event is open to the public. Interested attendees may RSVP at cfjwj.org/communityhealth.  Although the screening will be in Apopka, the exact location is not being publicly disclosed as a security precaution, according to Community Change Senior Communications Manager Karen Ottoni. The venue will be provided to attendees after they register, according to the RSVP form. 

Central Florida Jobs with Justice, Hope CommUnity Center, 1199SEIU and Community Change are hosting the event. The documentary features people and organizers from Central Florida and Milwaukee and examines issues including access to care, medical costs and community-based approaches to health care.  

Eimear Roy, a Central Florida Jobs with Justice medical-debt-relief campaign leader who appears in the film, said she became involved after advocating for Orange County to dedicate American Rescue Plan Act money toward relieving residents’ medical debt. 

Roy said the campaign focused on residents who could not afford their medical debts while meeting everyday expenses. 

“The goal of that is to try and relieve people from medical debts that they just have no way of paying,” Roy said. 

Roy, 58, is originally from Dublin, Ireland, and said her experience growing up with universal health care has influenced how she views access to care in the United States. 

“I grew up in Ireland, and so from when I was born, and we were pretty working class, I had universal healthcare,” she said. 

Now a naturalized U.S. citizen, Roy said she hopes the documentary encourages residents to recognize that their own experiences can have an impact and that they can speak up about health care issues.  

“I don’t think people realize how powerful their stories are,” Roy said, adding that people can participate by speaking at public meetings, contacting elected officials or joining community organizations.  

Jonathan Alingu, executive co-director of Central Florida Jobs with Justice, said Apopka was chosen in part because organizers see residents facing obstacles such as cost, language barriers and difficulty navigating the health care system. 

He said the organization wants to explore whether a community care model developed in Apopka could eventually be used elsewhere in Orange County. 

Alingu said organizers hope to “create a model in Apopka that can be replicated all across the county.” 

Alingu said one of the biggest concerns organizers hear from Central Florida residents is access to affordable primary care. When people delay preventive or routine treatment, he said, their conditions may worsen until they require emergency care, potentially leading to larger hospital bills and medical debt.  

Saturday’s event will also function in part as a health fair, with participating organizations providing information about services and help navigating available health care programs, Alingu said.  

Roy said she expects representatives of disability organizations and other health-related organizations to attend. 

Organizers hope the discussion continues after the screening. Alingu said he would like Apopka residents to help identify local needs and participate in developing longer-term approaches to community care. 

“The solution actually comes from them,” he said.