Covid-19 Citizen Support Links

Lacy Laird, a library service specialist at our Northwest Branch Library has gone above and beyond in gathering a comprehensive list of helpful links for anyone seeking support through the Covid-19 crisis.

Please note that while we will actively update the links listed below, we can't ensure the long term validity of the information or offers on other websites.

Harris County Public Health Update, May 5: Now is NOT the Time to Stop Wearing Masks and Practicing Social Distancing
Information about free Covid-19 testing and staying safe as the reopening of local businesses begins

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• Many states consider a significant reduction in pay a "constructive dismissal" - if your employer reduces your wages due to the stimulus, you may be able to file under unemployment insurance.  Texas Workforce Commission
• You should know that most disinfectant sprays need to be left on the surface you're spraying for 5 to 10 minutes before being wiped off.
• These three articles will probably answer any stimulus check questions you have
• What to do the moment you cannot make ends meet
• If you are looking for work, this website is listing places that are hiring right now.
• There are predators taking advantage of the CoVid-19 outbreak to scam people. Don't be fooled. Here is what the FTC is suggesting you watch out for and what they are doing to protect you.
• When is the point of no return to flatten the curve
• ReadyHarris Covid-19 Hub
• Harris County Public Health
• Texas’ Public Health Department
• What is your Governor doing about the CoVid-19 outbreak?
• This bilingual fabric mask usage and cleaning instruction site from Hong Kong
• Eviction and Foreclosure information by the HUD

 EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
 

  IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING LOSS OF JOB OR INCOME,
  PLEASE SEE THIS NEW YORK TIME'S ARTICLE FOR
  ASSISTANCE

• Crisis Text Line
• COLLEGE STUDENTS in need of STORAGE SPACE, U-Haul is offering free 30-day storage
• IRS is providing tax relief for some affected families
• Texas’ unemployment benefits signup page
• Government rent assistance
• Government medical, utility, food, and housing assistance
• Banks offering assistance to their customers
• A pretty comprehensive list of financial relief options for people working in specific industries or states. Seems to mostly be interest-free loans and grants.

 FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS:
 Our undying gratitude. You guys are heroes! 

 Companies offering free food to healthcare workers

​​​​ Ten Percent Happier is offering free accounts for healthcare workers

 McDonalds is offering free coffee to healthcare workers

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR WORKERS

• Small Business Guidance and Loan Resources
• Assistance for Service Workers
• Assistance for those in Student Loan Crisis
• Assistance for Bartenders
• Assistance for Restaurant Workers
• Assistance for CoVid-19 Positive tested Restaurant Workers
• Assistance for Authors
• Assistance for Domestic Workers
• Assistance for Freelance Artists
• Assistance for our Military and Families
• Assistance to all Veterans, Active Duty, Reserves and National Guard
• Assistance for Painters, Printmakers, and Sculptors

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS AND FUNDS

• United Way's COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund
• Covid-19 State by State
• Greater Houston CoVid-19 Recovery Fund
• Personal loans and other services being offered by banks
• Facebook's location-based community assistance boards 
• Salvation Army 
• USDA FNS Disaster Assistance
• Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
• A fantastic list of charities providing emergency relief

  WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

   Sew face masks to donate to hospitals. Here is an additional article analyzing
   cloth material and what works best to block viruses. 
    IMPORTANT INFORMATION IF YOU WANT TO SEW MASKS: People should
    remember to wash and dry the fabric at least once on the highest heat settings
    you can before you cut and sew to ensure your mask will not shrink later (as
    you'll want to wash and dry on high heat after each use to sanitize them)

• Send an encouraging note to a Covid-19 patient or healthcare worker
• If you are healthy, GIVE BLOOD. There is a national shortage.
• If you are healthy, sign up for Meals on Wheels.
• Feeding America is collecting donations specifically for those affected by the CoVid-19 outbreak.
• 3D print parts for hospitals
• Sign up to tutor a child stuck home from school so they don’t fall behind
• Helpful Engineering is asking for volunteers to design, source and execute projects that can help people suffering from the COVID-19 crisis worldwide.
• Help the homeless survive CoVid-19

FEELING LONELY?

• Quarantine Together offers book clubs, casual chats, and other communities to help reduce cabin fever and isolation
• LinkedIn is offering 16 different courses to teach you how to adjust to working from home
• Phone someone else on quarantine with Quarantine Chat

STUDENT SUPPORT

  K-12 STUDENTS

    Free K-5th Grade educational worksheets for printout

    Fiveable provides resources for AP students and is making special
    efforts during the CoVid outbreak

• Scholastic has created a free Learn at Home program for families with kiddos
• Google's Teach From Home toolkit for educators 
• Khan Academy  is full of free learning resources up to college level. This might be valuable to us parents that are suddenly homeschooling and the higher level classes are viable for adult learning.
• Life Skills Curriculum for Elementary, Middle, and High School
• This is an amazing spreadsheet listing resources for students affected by school closings!
• PBS LearningMedia has a bunch of great learning tools for K-12
• The Barbara Bush Foundation has created an Educational Toolkit for At-Home Learning
• Sign up to be tutored 1 on 1 in a subject of your choice

COLLEGE STUDENTS

• Modern States is offering "Freshman Year for Free". Take tuition-free, high quality courses online from top institutions for college credit.
• At-Home Solution for TOEFL iBT ® Test and GRE ®General Test Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
• covintern.com tracks internship cancellations and those still avaliable to students affected by the crisis.

FUN ONLINE

VIRTUAL TOURS AND LIVE WEBCAMS

• Behold! The Great Wall of China!
• Tons of different art and museum galleries
• The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is doing a Home Safari live on their FB page at 3 PM every week day. They highlight an animal each day and incorporate an at-home activity to keep children learning at home.
• The Houston Zoo and San Diego Zoo has various webcams
• Tour a real farm
• Penguin Cam!!
• The Monterrey Bay Aquarium
• National Park virtual tours

HOBBIES, LEARNING, TIME PASSERS, AND EXERCISE

• Yale's massively popular 'happiness' course is available free online
• Stanford is offering a coding course, Free coding education in the time of Covid-19
• Here are 450 Ivy League courses you can take online right now for free
• Free Access: The 50 America's Test Kitchen Recipes You Need Now
• Living Room Concerts
• Minimoog, a digital synthesizer app, is now free
• Adult level difficulty word and number puzzles for print out.
• Adult coloring book pages for printout
• KORG is a music-making app that normally costs $20, but is free until March 31st
• Free online courses for adults
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is offering free lessons

WATCH, READ & PLAY

BOOKS, AUDIOBOOKS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, MAGAZINES

• Overdrive Your HCPL library card allows you to check out eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital comics, manga, newspapers, magazines and stream movies and television shows for free. Don’t have a card with us yet? Sign up for an online card today
• The whole Tumblebooks Suite is free online at hcpl.net through August 31, 2020. Interactive books for kids, Romance and more for adults and a stuff for Teens, too!
• Standardebooks.org has free e-books for download that are high-quality
• https://openlibrary.org for tons of book options.  
• You can now download over 300,000 books from the NYPL for free
• 2,780+ free ebooks and 100 free audiobooks that are sorted into lists by topic.

STREAMING FOR MOVIES, DOCUMENTARIES, AND TELEVISION

• Kanopy is a free streaming video service provided by HCPL. It offers classic movies, critically-acclaimed documentaries, foreign films and access to the Great Courses catalog.
• Crunchyroll offers many, many anime free without an account (mostly subtitled). 
• Watch Netflix with your fellow quarantined with this Chrome Extension
• Watch all local television channels for free with this not-for-profit service

  STUFF FOR KIDDOS

  Harris County Public Librarians are providing online programming through our
  social media platforms and Youtube. Find your favorite librarian on
  Instagram and Facebook or Twitch 

•  Watch our YouTube Channel for crafts, story time, author chats and how to videos!
•   Lunch doodles with Mo Willems every weekday at 1PM ET. Recorded drawing sessions for kids, about 20 min each.
•   The whole Tumblebooks Suite is free online at hcpl.net through August 31, 2020. Interactive books for kids in English, Spanish and French.
• Spider-Man will send your child a free voice message
• McHarper Manor is offering free daily arts and crafts classes
• Apparently your family can Skype a scientist? And like... ask them stuff?
• GoNoodle has free games for kids to keep them moving and thinking. Great for indoor recess, home school, etc.
• Storytime! From Spaaaaace!
• Space Racers was created by NASA to teach kids STEAM things

VIDEO GAMES

• Destiny 2 is free on Steam.
• Emulator.online gives you access to Game Boy, SNES, and Sega Genesis games on your PC
• Free PC video games being offered by GOG.com

OTHER MEDIA ENTERTAINMENT

• Perhaps a symphony?
• The fascinating world of the Marble Olympics (Hazers forever!)
• 15 Broadway Plays and Shows you can watch free.