NILES — Andrews University School of Population Heath, Nutrition and Wellness assistant professor Gretchen Krivak said it is difficult to be completely healthy.

Someone who works out each day may suffer from intense stress and anxiety. Someone with strong mental health may be struggling financially.

The Health & Fitness Expo seeks to help Niles area residents work toward total wellbeing. The free public expo will run from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 6 at the Niles-Buchanan YMCA at 905 N. Front St. in Niles. Its intent is to have its attendees leave with a better understanding of themselves and with a set of tools to improve their personal health.

The 30 vendors at the event will range from fitness centers to churches to banks. Each will provide information on different areas of health, from the physical to the spiritual to the financial.

Each was drawn to the event through the expo’s hosts: Andrews University School of Health Professions, Be Healthy Berrien, the YMCA of Southwest Michigan and the city of Niles.

The partnering organizations work a bit like the well-being field does, Krivak said.

“Within the healthcare system, we really emphasize working together,” she said. “So, this is part of the reason we developed this.”

Each vendor will offer information and resources in an interactive way meant to engage the audience, Krivak said.

A fitness center booth could lead attendees through a miniature workout. A nutritional health booth could provide a cooking demonstration. A hospital’s booth could provide blood pressure screenings.

“Throughout every booth, we ask that the person who’s at the booth has some sort of interactive activity for the residents,” she said. “We really want them to learn about their personal health and well-being and learn something from the event that they can take home and do at home.”

The Andrews University students that will volunteer at the expo will also be able to take away something inspirational, Krivak said.

“It’s really cool to be in this setting together with other people who care about people and want to help them be the best they can possibly be,” she said. “For our students, they’re getting the opportunity early on.”

Each vendor that the four organizations brought in were not charged to attend. Their only “cost,” Krivak said, was to provide a prize that attendees could win.

Some may offer exercise equipment. Others may offer fitness center passes.

Overall, however, Krivak wants the expo to make an impact on someone, and not just through a prize.

She recalled one particular man who was not entirely healthy that came at the expo’s inaugural appearance in Niles last year.

“The expo really changed his life, and so when you hear stories like that, even if it’s just one person that has that story, you know the expo is worth it,” Krivak said.

The Health & Fitness Expo comes as Andrews University faculty and Spectrum Health Lakeland staff work to complete a community health assessment of Berrien County and its communities. The assessment is meant to identify where Berrien residents both struggle and succeed in their personal well-being.

Krivak hopes to not only aid the assessment through the expo in Niles, but to adjust the expo’s vendors and programs down the line to reflect those needs the assessment concludes are needed.