April 2020

By Otis R. Taylor Jr., San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2020 Gerardo Peña can’t pay this month’s $2,700 rent for Right-Way Shoe Repair on College Avenue in Oakland, a store he’s owned for 16 years. He also can’t pay the $2,300 he owes for Shoe Clinic, the sister repair shop less than 2 miles away on Piedmont Avenue. He’s owned that store for seven years. “I know he’s stressed out,” Leslie Peña said about her father. “I think everybody is.” [ Please click here to read more .]

By Tatiana Sanchez, San Francisco Chronicle, April 10, 2020 Hundreds of educators in San Francisco are pledging to donate part of their stimulus checks to undocumented immigrants who make up a vital part of the U.S. and regional workforce but do not qualify for federal aid under the government’s stimulus bill. United Educators of San Francisco, which represents more than 6,200 San Francisco Unified School District employees, including teachers, nurses, counselors, and psychologists, said it...

Press release from Congressman Jared Huffman’s office: https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2020/apr/9/local-community-health-centers-land-more-2-million/

My wife works for an educational company and her past few weeks have been busy working with schools and districts across California as they face the herculean task of adapting to distance learning for the remainder of the school year. One of my favorite stories from last week comes from a training that one of her colleagues was conducting with a school site. During the training, without skipping a beat, the trainer announced that his daughter had just handed him their pet mice and he was now doi

CalFresh food benefits are available to individuals and families who have been impacted by COVID-19. CalFresh provides monthly food benefits based on household income and expenses at the time of application. Even if temporary, individuals and families who have experienced a change in their circumstances may apply for CalFresh through one of California’s 58 counties. Californian’s can visit GetCalFresh.org to apply or call 1-877-847-3663 (FOOD) to be connected to their local county social...

ACEs Aware supports health care providers, their teams, and all those on the front lines of administering care and interventions as California addresses stress and anxiety related to COVID-19. To lessen anxiety during this time of uncertainty, providers and patients alike can benefit from buffering care and protective factors to help prevent a toxic stress response. See ACEs Aware COVID-19 resources for information and resources on managing the impact of stress related to COVID-19 on...

According to Governor Newsom during his press conference today (Thursday, April 9th) the number one stressor for health care workers was having a place to sleep between shifts that do not put their families at risk. many were paying out of pocket for a hotel room or sleeping in their car between shifts. To address this, starting April 10, frontline health care workers who are exposed to or test positive for COVID-19 can find hotel rooms through the CalTravelStore . If you are a health care...

KQED is offering an at-home learning response to school closures for all children and youth in California. This response includes a new educational schedule for broadcast on KQED Plus in the Bay Area as well as free corresponding digital learning media and activities for at-home learning. KQED is also providing support for teachers and parents in navigating this new learning landscape throughout the state. These At-Home Learning educational resources are made possible through an...

By Nico Savidge, The Mercury News, April 8, 2020 Even as public health officials cautiously cheer the apparent success of efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus, there is still no end in sight for the shelter in place orders that have upended daily life for millions across the country. That’s because the questions of when and how life in the Bay Area and elsewhere will return to something like normal hinge in large part on the problem that has hampered the United States’ response to...

By Erin Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, April 9, 2020 Roughly half of the people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in California are African American, Latino or Asian, according to data released Wednesday by state public health officials who have come under pressure to provide more details about who is infected and dying in the pandemic. The state’s demographic profile is based on only 37% — or about 6,300 — of all of California’s confirmed cases, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday...

By John Fensterwald, EdSource, April 9, 2020 Four out of 5 parents of California public school students say that school closures from the coronavirus are making them feel stressed, and 9 out of 10 are worried their students will fall behind academically, according to a survey released Wednesday . The survey of 1,200 parents statewide for the nonprofit student advocacy organization Education Trust-West also found that 44 percent of parents said that their child’s teacher had contacted them...

The spread of COVID-19 is impacting everyone, and every corner of life. It is particularly devastating for children and families that were in crises before this pandemic, including: Families with young children – the cohort of our state’s population most in poverty – who couldn’t access essential supports, including sufficient nutrition and quality child care and preschool; Children who were abused and neglected and/or witness to domestic violence; The majority of California students who...