Love and Good News April 2020

Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey’s food pantries in Yerington, Silver Springs and Dayton continue to operate during the COVID-19 crisis. The pantries are going strong thanks to the hard work and generous donations of our volunteers, AmeriCorps and VISTA members, staff, USDA, FBNN, and many businesses, foundations, groups and individuals. If you’re in need of food and referrals to other resources, don’t worry; we got you. Details about location and open hours for each pantry:

Dayton Food Pantry: https://healthycomm.org/food-hub/food-pantries/dayton-food-pantry/

Silver Stage Food Pantry: https://healthycomm.org/food-hub/food-pantries/silver-springs-food-pantry/

Yerington Food Pantry: https://healthycomm.org/food-hub/food-pantries/yerington-food-pantry/

Healthy Communities’ Backpack Program Continues: Food security helps make this challenging time better for children and their families. HCC’s weekend school food backpack program for 100 students continues with the help of school counselors and HCC’s certified Community Health Workers, AmeriCorps and VISTA service members, and volunteers. Need has increased during the COVID-19 crisis, so HCC is seeking additional donations. Children are in need of meal ready items such as canned soup, chili, ravioli, and fruit. Donations can be dropped off at the Dayton Food Pantry at 209 Dayton Valley Road, Monday-Thursday 10am-4pm (please call ahead to 246-7834 and let volunteers know you are coming), or by making a monetary donation online at https://healthycomm.org/donate/

Volunteering and Donating: If you’d like to volunteer or donate, please call Healthy Communities’ main office at 246-7550 or go to https://healthycomm.org/donate/

Connecting with Elders in Lyon County: During this time of social distancing and concerns about vulnerability to COVID-19, Healthy Communities’ Safe Schools Professionals, our certified Community Health Workers, and our AmeriCorps members are working with Lyon County Human Services to perform wellness check-ins by phone with seniors.

School Gardens: Healthy Communities continues to partner with Lyon County School District to bring gardening education to students and to develop and maintain organic school gardens at schools throughout Lyon County. Lyon County school teachers and Healthy Communities’ SNAP Ed team have quickly pivoted to new ways to teach gardening skills to students. For instance, students are getting SNAP Ed activities with packets of seeds and other lesson materials, and teachers are offering online activity lessons that boost reading comprehension skills, and math skills such as measuring. Find our “School Gardening at Home” project instructions and videos at this link:  https://healthycomm.org/covid-19-school-gardening-at-home-activities/

Student Support Groups in Lyon: Healthy Communities’ staff members such as Safe Schools Professonals are assisting Lyon County School District with outreach to students, establishing online, virtual ways to provide continuation of support groups such as school-based grief groups.

Sharing Online Educational Enrichment and Activity Ideas: Healthy Communities Facebook page called “Lyon/Storey Parents and Teachers of Young Children” shares daily posts of encouraging messages and home activity ideas from local schools, libraries, Boys and Girls Clubs, Nevada Families First, etc., plus connections to fun online learning opportunities from around the nation. https://www.facebook.com/LyonStorey-Parents-Teachers-of-Young-Children-1656897587876249/

Warmline: Western Nevada NAMI’s Warmline provides confidential support when you want to talk to someone. The WNV National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Warmline gives you a peer’s perspective on how to find support in the community by phone, text, or video.

Resource Guide: There are a number of resource guides to help Nevadans looking for economic assistance and information during the pandemic. U.S. Senator Cortez-Masto has issued this one: https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/coronavirus-resources

Moratorium on Evictions: Nevada has placed a moratorium on evictions during the #COVID19 quarantine. This includes Nevadans in weekly stays or extended living motels. Find the details here: https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Gov.-Sisolak-Guidance-Directive-008-Evictions-Updated-on-3-30.pdf

Senior Resources: To encourage #StayHomeForNevada, Nevada’s Aging and Disability Services Division announced the launch of Nevada CAN, a resource website for Nevada seniors and caregivers to connect with each other for services they may need during the COVID-19 crisis: http://nevada211.org/seniors-covid1

National Council on Aging has a blog with helpful information on current COVID-19 topics, such as 7 Tips for Managing Your Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Blog: https://www.ncoa.org/blog/

Nevada Unemployment Resources

Acronyms are defined on the left in blue. For instance, PUA stands for “Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.”

Stimulus Payments:

Who will receive the Economic Impact Payment automatically without taking additional steps?

Most eligible U.S. taxpayers will automatically receive their Economic Impact Payments including:

Individuals who filed a federal income tax for 2018 or 2019

Individuals who receive Social Security retirement, disability (SSDI), or survivor benefits

Individuals who receive Railroad Retirement benefits

Important for People Who Did not File Tax Returns: Even if you did not have enough income to file a federal income tax return for 2019, you could still be eligible for the Economic Impact Payment.

Follow the link below for full details:

Who should use “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info” to provide additional information to receive the Economic Impact Payment?

Eligible U.S. citizens or permanent residents who:
Had gross income that did not exceed $12,200 ($24,400 for married couples) for 2019
Were not otherwise required to file a federal income tax return for 2019, and didn’t plan to.

You can provide the necessary information to the IRS easily and quickly for no fee through “Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info.” They will use this information to determine your eligibility and payment amount and send you an Economic Impact Payment. After providing this information you won’t need to take any additional action. https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus/non-filers-enter-payment-info-here

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