Has coronavirus disrupted your life? From school lunches to utility bills, here's where to get help
The past week has halted everyday life in the Sacramento region. The Sacramento City Council on Friday declared a state of emergency and passed a series of measures to help mitigate the harm to people affected by the school closures and shutdowns imposed to try to slow the spread of the virus. Schools, non-profits and companies also stepped up to help.
Following is a list of resources and ways to find help. We will update it frequently as this public health crisis unfolds.
Assistance being offered by the City of Sacramento
This week, the City of Sacramento will create an online portal where businesses hurt by the coronavirus response can apply for zero interest loans of up to $25,000. The city has earmarked $1 million for this purpose. Please check back soon for a link on March 18 at 5pm.
Parking will be free in downtown for the next 30 days after 4 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends.
The City Council will vote on Tuesday, March 17 on a moratorium on evictions for renters who are economically harmed by the virus outbreak.
The city is working with the Sacramento Central Labor Council to assist affected workers in obtaining unemployment, paid family leave, disability insurance, paid sick leave and worker’s compensation.
The city will cancel permits for all events with more than 250 people for the next 30 and the possibly an additional 30 days, and refund the permit fees.
The city is working with Sacramento Steps Forward to distribute $250,000 in cleaning and sanitation supplies to the homeless.
School meals still available
On Friday, schools in Sacramento County announced that they would close for three weeks. But many families depend on free and reduced price lunch. Click on the links below to see where districts are distributing food.
Elk Grove Unified
Natomas Unified
Robla Unified
Sacramento City Unified
Twin Rivers Unified
Sacramento Central Labor Council assistance with navigating unemployment process.
The Sacramento Central Labor Council has volunteered to help people navigate the unemployment process for impacted workers, and the city will work with the them to make that information available as well as the Governor’s direction to assist workers with: paid family leave, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and workers compensation.
The Central Labor Council’s hotline for assistance is 916-927-9772.
The State of California also has resources for workers regarding paid family leave, disability insurance, unemployment insurance, paid sick leave, and workers compensation: labor.ca.gov/coronavirus2019
SMUD and PG&E suspend non-payment power shutoffs
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District said Friday it would stop disconnecting power to residential and commercial customers for non-payment. In addition, those who had been disconnected for non-payment will be reconnected, as long as the meter and other equipment has not been damaged and conditions are safe. The utility said the moratorium on non-payment disconnections would last until at least March 31.
Pacific Gas & Electric made a similar announcement on Thursday, and said affected customers could also access its most flexible payment plans. Customers who visit local offices to pay bills and are sick or experiencing symptoms are being asked to use other payment options such as online or by phone at 877-704-8470
Postmates is waiving commission fees for small businesses on their platform
Postmates says it will waive commission fees for small businesses using the company’s food delivery platform. The company said interested merchants can visit its website, establish an account and begin deliveries at no extra charge.
The company also said it would enable merchants to donate leftover meals and food to food banks through a notification on their tablets. Postmates couriers will pick up leftover food and deliver it to River City Food Bank.
DoorDash and Fresher Sacramento are delivering meals to at-risk communities
Project DASH is a DoorDash initiative that provides in-kind grants to food rescue and hunger relief organizations. Fresher Sacramento piloted delivery with DoorDash in 2019 to deliver healthy ready-made meals to low-income communities. In 2020, Fresher Sacramento became one of 12 Project DASH grant recipients. Their grant enables them to deliver meals to mobility impaired residents in senior living or low-income apartment complexes.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, DoorDash and Fresher Sacramento are partnering to power delivery of 15,000 healthy, low-cost meals over four weeks to five at-risk communities in our state’s capital. In this unprecedented public health emergency, many residents are unable to access necessities due to measures supporting “social distancing.” For these residents and others with impaired mobility, more needs to be done to ensure all residents, especially the most vulnerable, have access to food and other necessities.
Verizon waives late fees
Verizon said it would waive late fees for residential and small business customers because of economic circumstances related to the coronavirus. In addition, the company will not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus.
The company also offers free wifi in Fremont Park, Brooks Truitt Park and the Bill Conlin Youth Sports Complex.
Comcast offers 60 days of free internet
Comcast said it would offer 60 days of its Internet Essentials service for free to low-income families in the Sacramento area. The service is normally available to qualified households for $9.95 a month.
The company also said it would boost internet speeds for existing and new Internet Essentials customers.
Applicants for new service can sign up at www.internetessentials.com. The accessible website also includes the option to video chat with customer service agents in American Sign Language. There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish.
The California Arts Council is gathering data on organizations impacted by the coronavirus
The California Arts Council is surveying the arts field at-large to gather data on the potential financial impacts of this public health emergency. If you are an organization or individual in the arts field that anticipates losing personal or business income related to COVID-19, please consider filling out this brief survey. This is a quickly evolving situation and this data will be an important resource to inform our agency and the state. Thank you for your participation.
Sacramento Public Library extends due dates, has vast digital library
In light of the recent change in circumstances, for your convenience, any Sacramento Public Library and Woodland Public Library items that have been checked out from March 6 to 31, have had their due date extended by four extra weeks.
Please check your library account at https://catalog.saclibrary.org to obtain your new due date.
Also, remember that you have 24/7 access to the library from the comfort of your home if you please.
See our digital media page for more info. www.saclibrary.org/Books/Digital-Media.
Help for creatives from The Creator Fund
ConvertKit has established a $65,600 fund to help creators in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please read details below and then submit your information if you are in need.
Creator Fund Page
