Community & Government Announcements

The Oxford Public Library is hosting a suicide prevention online workshop from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on Wednesday, October 14 at 6:30 PM.  Details and registration information in flyer below.

TSL Oxford

The Phoenixville YMCA will be hosting its annual Coat Drive at Barkley Elementary (Second Avenue entrance) Friday, October 16^th; 4-6pm.  See flyers below for more information:

SpreadtheWarmth_PHX

SpreadtheWarmth-PHX_Spanish

The American Red Cross seeks volunteers to assist with blood drives, disaster response, and other areas.  Please see the flyers below for details.

Red Cross All Opportunities Introduction Flyer

Red Cross Blood Drive Volunteers Save Lives7.29.20LC

Help Red Cross At National Disasters During the COVID Pandemic (LC)

Open Hearth’s Goal Achievement Program (GAP) is our homelessness prevention program that provides short-term, decreasing level rent payment assistance to those who are at risk of becoming homeless due to an unforeseen, short-term financial crisis.

Eligibility:

• Renter residing in Northern Chester County or Western Montgomery County (see this flyer for list of eligible municipalities:  Open Hearth GAP Program Overview)
• Must have an active lease agreement
• Must have a source of income or guarantee of imminent income (this could be a layoff letter or an unemployment compensation letter)

– proof of income for entire household from past 30 days required–

Eligibility Screening:

Contact Housing Programs Manager – Rebecca Rush – at 610-792-9282 x207 or rrush@openhearthinc.org

Chester County has approved $1.8 million in additional CARES funding to help cover rental payments for those with job and income losses. The previous $750 per month rent limit does not apply to this new money. Qualified applicants can receive assistance that may cover up to a six-month period.

To get started, Call 211 and press Prompt #2 (Housing and Homeless related issues) to complete a short intake.

2-1-1 prevention update

2-1-1 prevention update – Spanish

Thank you!

Darshana

Darshana Shyamsunder

Director, Community Impact Initiatives

United Way of Chester County

610-429-9400, ext. 4112

dshyamsunder@uwchestercounty.org

The  Phoenixville Food Insecurity Team (PFIT) has released the following calendar of food pantry and meal locations in Phoenixville for October 2020:

October PFIT

October PFIT Spanish

The Chester County Department of Aging and APPRISE health insurance counselors will provide free, confidential assistance to Medicare beneficiaries during the Annual Open Enrollment
Period, October 15, 2020 to December 7, 2020.  See the flyer below for information on these free phone appointments:

2020 Save Money on Medicare Open Enrollment for 2020 9.8.2020

Pennsylvania’s Governor has announced the availability of the COVID Alert PA app that can notify users if they may have been exposed to COVID-19 without revealing their identity or location.

COVID Alert PA is a free, voluntary mobile app developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in partnership with NearForm, UPenn, and MIT Lincoln Laboratory using the Apple and Google Exposure Notification System. The app’s features include an interactive COVID-19 symptom checker, opt-in for alerts for potential exposures to the virus, updates on the latest public health data about COVID-19 in PA, and advice for what to do if you have a potential exposure to COVID-19.

All Pennsylvanians are encouraged to download the app on a personal mobile device to help in the fight against COVID-19. The app can be found in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store by searching for “covid alert pa.”

The app is designed with privacy at the forefront. The app does not use GPS, location services, or any movement or geographical information. It will never collect, transmit, or store personal information. In other words, it is completely anonymous.

Here’s how it works:

*   The app uses anonymous Bluetooth low energy proximity technology to know when your phone is within 6 feet of another phone with the app for 15 minutes or more.

*   When an app user confirms a positive COVID-19 test result in the app, it will check to see if it matches any of the anonymous Bluetooth close contact interactions your phone has had over the last 14 days.

*   If there is a match, COVID Alert PA may send an alert after taking into account the date, duration of exposure, and the Bluetooth signal strength (which is used to estimate how close your phone was to the phone of the person having a positive test result).

Our success in overcoming the virus depends on all of us and our collective behaviors, including wearing a mask, social distancing, proper hygiene, and staying home if you feel sick. The COVID Alert PA app is an additional powerful tool that can be used on a voluntary basis to help keep yourself and those you care about safe.

For more information on the COVID Alert Pennsylvania app: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/COVID-Alert-FAQs.aspx

The Chester County Health Department is offering a series of flu vaccine clinics at multiple locations around the county.  See the following for more information and to register:

Vaccination Clinics Schedule 9 11 20 v3

ESP 2020 Master Clinic Schedule Spanish

Check out the PA CareerLink and United Way Financial Stability Center’s September virtual workshop calendar:

September 2020 Virtual Workshop Calendar

Feel free to reach out to Darshana Shyamsunder at dshyamsunder@uwchestercounty.org if you have any questions.

Thank you!

Darshana

Darshana Shyamsunder

Director, Community Impact Initiatives

United Way of Chester County

610-429-9400, ext. 4112