MILWAUKEE – Five thousand families lined up for hours Friday, hoping for a healthy head-start to school! Quamella Hicks and her aunt, Michelle, lined up to get immunized Friday. It’s the annual Back-To-School Health Fair, and thousands of families waited for hours outside South Division High School for free school supplies, free health care checks, and even shots for school. It’s an event headed up by Milwaukee’s Health Department. “There is a medical need in our community, and we need to connect families and children to the services that are available,” said Health Commissioner Bevan Baker. Many of these families don’t speak any English, and need help figuring out how to get their kids ready for school. The health fair provides a checklist: visit 15 health care booths and get a free backpack full of school supplies. The message is getting across. “We’ve seen it grown multiple folds. We saw about 4,000 kids last year. We expect to see 5,000 kids this year. This is tremendous. It’s getting bigger and better every year. Our message is working, our commitment from partners is working,” Baker said. Thankfully, kids like Hicks understand the importance. Families were also provided with free insurance information, as well as dental screenings.