How to get help, volunteer during coronavirus outbreak
The threat of a coronavirus outbreak is affecting everyday life for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans, with closures of schools, food pantries and other services. These are some places Miami Valley residents can go to for help.
How to get help
The Foodbank
The Foodbank, located at 56 Armor Place in Dayton, will operate an on-site drivethrough pantry from 1 to 3 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the month of March.
Due to an increase in demand, families will only be served once a month and must bring proof of identification, said Lee Lauren Truesdale, chief development officer for the Foodbank. The last day of distribution will be Friday, March 27.
Truesdale said the Foodbank served 469 households on Friday. An average number is 150 to 200 during nonemergency times, she said.
In light of safety concerns, they ask for those that are attending to not arrive earlier than 15 minutes prior to the start of the distribution. As long as those in need are in line by 3 p.m., they will be served.
The Foodbank may look to move to appointment only in the coming months.
Other pantries
Other food pantries have taken measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. Catholic Social Services have temporarily moved to a box program and Good Neighbor House food pantry is offering a drive-through. Good Neighbor House’s thrift store, wellness classes and eye clinic are closed until further notice, according to its website.
YWCA Dayton
The YWCA, located at 141 W. Third St. in Dayton, will remain open. Audrey Starr, YWCA spokeswoman, said the YWCA shelter has been doubling down on sanitizing frequently-touched surfaces, moved to virtual case management and is serving clients food in their rooms.
Starr said that with everyone being encouraged to stay home, the YWCA’s mission is more important now than ever.
“If your abuser is at home, home is not the safest place for you,” Starr said.
The YWCA’s 24-hour crisis hotline is 937-222-SAFE, or 937-222-7233.
Spectrum
Parents who don’t have internet at home can get free broadband, including installation, from Spectrum for 60 days to help families impacted by the coronavirus, the company announced.
Spectrum parent company Charter announced that, starting Monday, it will offer free broadband and WiFi for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students. To sign up, call 844488-8395. Spectrum serves all of Southwest Ohio.
Company spokesman Mike Pedelty said installation for most people includes equipment that can be shipped in the mail and set up by the customer. He said this will keep wait times for installation down. The offer is good only for people who aren’t currently customers.
How to help
■ The Foodbank: Anyone wishing to volunteer with the Foodbank can call 937461-0265 ext. 31. The Foodbank is seeking help packing food boxes and distributing through the drive-through. “We ask that all volunteers be healthy and not be around anyone at home who is immune-compromised,” Truesdale said. Volunteers are needed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Volunteers must be prescheduled. Everyone who enters the Foodbank building will have their temperatures checked, Truesdale said.
■YWCA Dayton is accepting monetary donations online at the YWCA Dayton website and has a wish list set up through Amazon, so that donations can come directly to the shelter. Women of Influence, YWCA’s largest fundraiser, was originally slated for March 12, but has been postponed until June 3. Starr said monetary donations to the YWCA are the biggest way Miami Valley residents can help.
■ Community Blood Center: The Community Blood Center is asking eligible members of the community to donate blood and urging blood drive sponsors to keep the blood drives they have scheduled. Emergency measures have begun with the Donor Strong blood drive campaign now underway at the Dayton CBC Donor Center. Miami Valley residents can make an appointment to donate at www.DonorTime. com or call 937-461-3220. Beginning Sunday, March 22, the Dayton CBC Donor Center will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Everyone who registers to donate Monday through Sunday, March 22, at the CBC Donor Center, 349 S. Main St., will receive a free Kings Island ticket or free Cinemark movie ticket, plus the current donor gift of socks. The Dayton Donor Center hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
■ The two biggest ways to help Good Neighbor House are by donating cleaning supplies and by making a monetary donation online. Email development@goodneighborhouse.org if you are able to donate cleaning supplies.
Contact this reporter at 937225-0719 or email Bonnie. Meibers@coxinc.com.
ful so far, she said.
“We isolated my (elderly) mom,” Geraci said. “She’s been isolated for the last four or five days, so something like (doorbell-ditch delivery) is a great delivery service for someone like her. It kind of defeats the purpose if they’re having contact with you.”
On Monday, U.S.Sen. Rob Portman hosted a conference
with Ohio business groups and leaders on the economic impact of the coronavirus health crisis and explores ways to help business owners such as the Lucases.
“The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, is not just a serious health crisis, but it is having a serious impact on Ohio’s economy, businesses both small and large, as well as their employees and their families,” Portman said in a statement after the call. “That’s why I’ve been working with my bipartisan colleagues in the Senate and with the Trump Administration to ensure that the legislation approved by the House last week truly helps not just our workers but also small and mid-sized businesses. I’m hopeful we can pass this legislation this week.”
During the conference call, Portman also discussed relief that Congress can provide to help businesses weather the storm and protect the economy over the next few months, he said.
“I look forward to sharing the ideas and concerns that these folks raised on today’s call with my colleagues in the Senate as well as the Trump Administration so that we can incorporate them into the next legislative measures taken to address this crisis,” Portman said.
Some businesses, like Reza’s cafe and coffee roaster near the Oregon District, has stopped accepting cash to try to combat coronavirus. The business also stopped allowing customers to fill their coffee cups and coffee bean containers from home.
More than 76,000 people in the Dayton metro area work in leisure and hospitality and retail, which are industries that could be severely impacted by the unprecedented efforts to restrain the spread of the coronavirus.
Sunday, Gov. Mike DeWine announced he would expand unemployment benefits to workers whose employers closed or who were in mandatory quarantine for suspected infection
Workers who cannot work because of the pandemic will not be subject to normal requirements for receiving unemployment, such as having to actively seek work while receiving payments, according to Montgomery County Job & Family Services. Workers who do not have paid leave at their job will be eligible for benefits.
There is usually a one-week waiting period built into the application process, but that also is being waived.
“We want to be sure everyone has the ability to apply for these benefits,” said Montgomery County Commission President Judy Dodge in a statement. “This emergency is going to affect many people, and we’re focused on serving people in this time of need.”
Many public places that offer Internet services have closed, including libraries and community centers.
Montgomery County’s Jobs Center, at 1111 S. Edwin C. Moses Blvd, is continuing to offer the public use of its computers to fill out online applications for unemployment benefits.
Initial unemployment claims in the state were down 0.4% in the week that ended March 7, according to state data. However, claims were up nearly 83% to 9,910 the week prior, ending on Feb. 29.
On Sunday, the state received about unemployment 12,000 applications as bars closed and restaurants closed for dine-in business, said Lt. Gov. Jon Husted.
The state’s call line for unemployment benefits has a wait of about 1 hour and 40 minutes right now, and Ohioans should consider using the website if they have Internet access to help cut down on wait times, Husted said.
Some business, such as This Old Couch, which has one employee, said they’ll continue to hang on to their staff while also being innovative.
“It’s almost a fight or flight,” said Bryan Lucas. “We are facing adversity; we can either shut the doors and go out of business or come up with creative ways to generate revenue.”
It’s too early to determine how much of an impact the pandemic will have on area businesses, but area Chamber of Commerce leaders expect things to get worse.
Parents, students and educators are adjusting on the fly with Ohio schools closed for at least the next three weeks. Work schedules, childcare and meals are an issue for some families, while others are just waiting for schools to prepare online lesson systems.
Carla Tyson of Kettering said work is very busy at the Dayton VA Medical Center now, so she’s blessed that her children are older and don’t present sudden, urgent child-care needs. Kettering schools are on spring break this week, but there’s still planning to do for her high school senior son and middle school daughter for the next few weeks.
“My daughter will most likely go over to my mom and dad’s; they said they’re OK with that,” Tyson said. “It’s to make sure she gets her medication and she can focus (on school work). If she’s at home, she might get into this or that, not having an adult there to make sure that she stays on task.”
Tyson joked that with her son just months from going off to college, he had better be self-sufficient enough to handle online classes, or he’ll be in trouble this fall. But she acknowledged the sudden, strange break in school could make it tough for students already battling