Updated March 31 (1:07p ET)
COVID-19 Richmond VA Resources
Email bmcoston@vcu.edu if you have an update or additional resource not listed.
Other Resource Lists
- Resources for Virginia Workers, Families, and Businesses Impacted by COVID-19
- Check out this other extensive resource list with categories for entertainment, financial health, mental health, physical health, resources for parents, for students/learning, and more (includes 360* tours of national parks, free virtual art lessons, and more!).
- Link to VCU School of Social Work Staff Council Resources for Teleworking, Homeschooling and Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Link to VCU YDSA’s COVID-19 Mutual Aid and Resources list (includes list of demands for VCU and place to sign petition if you are a VCU student/faculty/staff member).
Mutual Aid and Other Basic Needs
- You can apply if you’ve lost your job for COVID-19 reasons, BUT ALSO if any of the following are reasons why you can’t work right now:
- you’re quarantined;
- you’re caring for a family member who is sick or quarantined;
- you’re responsible for a child whose school is closed.
- You won’t be required to actively search for a new job right now and the state has also waived the one week waiting period.
- Unexpected travel expenses due to not being able to reside in a residence hall
- Unexpected travel expenses to care for yourself or a family member diagnosed with COVID-19
- Loss of income due to cut work hours, which has led to needing assistance with living expenses (i.e. housing, food, gas, etc.)
- Comcast COVID-19 response: Offering free WiFi for two months to K-12 and higher education students. All Xfinity hot-spots are free to the public during this time.
- AT&T COVID-19 response: Offering open hot-spots, unlimited data to existing customers, and $10/month plans to low-income families.
- Verizon COVID-19 response: Offering free international calling to most countries. Customers should call to receive temporary plan upgrades, including data options.
- Sprint COVID-19 response: Offering unlimited data to existing customers and allowing all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.
- T-Mobile COVID-19 response: Offering unlimited data to existing customers, and, coming soon, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge.
- Charter Free Internet offer for 2 months: Offering free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.
- Homeward is monitoring housing instability due to COVID-19 and you can contact someone about your own housing needs here.
- Greater Richmond Continuum (GRCoC) is providing emergency shelter alternatives and coordinated plans to aid the homeless in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
- YMCA Richmond is offering childcare services for essential personnel at their downtown location from 6AM-6PM Monday-Friday for $40/day per child. They will begin offering childcare at their Shady Grove, Tuckahoe, Chester, and Midlothian locations on Monday, March 30.
- The YMCA does offer financial assistance on an income-based scale. For financial assistance, contact petersb@ymcarichmond.org.
General News and Governmental Services
- Webinar with epidemiologists, medical and social anthropologists who provide plainly stated verifiable data and macro- level perspectives from a social and medical approach.
- Links to the webinar chat history and presentation slides can be found here.
- March 19 update includes expanded Medicaid provisions
- Parking restrictions are currently suspended (except for these circumstances: 1, 2)
- Dominion Energy will not shut off electricity for non-payment
- Public Works will not shut off water for non-payment
- All non-emergency evictions are currently stayed (and many rental companies are working with renters on payment plans - so reach out to yours if you haven’t already!)
Food Resources
Health Resources
- Tuesday at Lucks Field (Church Hill), 12-3pm
- Thursday at Broomfield (Southside), 12-3pm
- Friday back parking lot of Health Brigade, 1-4pm
- For any needs outside of supplies, please call 804-358-6140
- RCHD and HCHD are providing no-contact naloxone dispensing on an individual basis, please call 804-592-8069 to arrange.
- LiveHealth does virtual doctor appointments and they have doctors, therapists, pediatricians, and allergy doctors on hand. It's a part of our VCU insurance as well!
- While Action Alliance staff have moved to working remotely, the Statewide Domestic and Sexual Violence Hotline is operational and continues to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Need support or help with planning for safety?
- Health Brigade has suspended most health outreach services
- Where can I get financial support if I test positive (artist and freelancer specific)?
School and Educational Resources
- National Emergency Library has 1.4 million digital books, now free for all.
- VCU is providing a limited number of laptops to assist with online learning and instruction that will be available on loan for students and instructional faculty. These laptops will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The laptops that are being distributed are subject to VCU computing use policies. Please make an appointment to pick one up on Friday, March 20th in the IT Support Center located in the lower level of Cabell Library. Additional information on access to these loaner laptops after Friday will be forthcoming.
- Keep on Learning (info for online learning at VCU)
- VitalSource ebooks free
- RedShelf ebooks free
- Henrico County is offering online-only library cards to grant access to their electronic offerings for all residents of Henrico, Richmond and Chesterfield.
Have Fun Resources
- update March 19 8:53p: I’ve been told that email communication is preferred now because of contamination concerns with physical mail. More info on how to participate forthcoming.
- Peloton App is offering a 90-day free trial (meditation, yoga, and other workouts)
- Passion Planner