Tips on Where to Find COVID-19 Resources

(Natabuena/Envato Elements)

It is difficult to understate how the COVID-19 crisis has upended nearly every facet of not only the economy, but also our entire society.

The crisis has already left hundreds of thousands of Californians without a job. Those who are still working struggle to stay healthy and keep their businesses afloat.

Luckily, there are resources available to help, whether you are looking for financial assistance, advice on how to stay healthy or where to find food.

In an effort to help everyone in the community, the Roundup has compiled a list of such resources.

The City of Clovis offers resources to residents and small business owners online at cityofclovis.com/clovis-cares.

The resources include information on food assistance, free delivery of pharmaceuticals, information on utilities, shelter assistance, and a list of restaurants that are open and doing takeout or delivery.

Several business-related resources are offered on the city’s website, including links to information on California small business loans, California tax relief, the U.S. Small Business Association and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The city also provides coaching to small businesses through the California Small Business Economic Development Center and Clovis Community College.

Clovis Economic Development Director Andy Haussler said the coaching provides business owners with professional insight on how to navigate the crisis, including information on various loan programs.

“They have a team of consultants that will work with businesses virtually via phone or web meetings. They give advice on what you should be doing and what programs you should be accessing that can save your business or take care of employees,” Haussler said.

Anyone who would like to receive coaching can contact the Clovis Economic Development Office at (559)324-2095.

A guide to the CARES Act, which was signed into law March 27, is also available online at clovis4business.com/covid-19/business-resources.

The guide offers information on several loan programs. For example, businesses looking for a way to cover the cost of employees might look into the Paycheck Protection Program. If you are seeking a fast cash infusion to cover immediate costs, you may consider the Emergency Economic Injury Grant. The guide provides additional business coaching resources as well.

The Clovis Chamber of Commerce put together an online “COVID-19 toolkit” (clovischamber.com/covid-19-toolkit) to assist local business owners. The toolkit includes business updates relevant to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as guides and checklists.

If you lost your job, you can find information on how to apply for unemployment at the Employment Development Department of California’s website (https://www.edd.ca.gov). Citizens can use the website to apply for unemployment, disability or paid family leave benefits.

When it comes to health resources, the Fresno County Department of Public Health (co.fresno.ca.us/departments/public-health/covid-19) and Community Regional Medical Centers (communitymedical.org/for-patients-families/Novel-Coronavirus) provide accurate information on how to stay healthy, what to do if you get sick and reliable COVID-19 statistics.

The FCPDH provides hygiene guidance in several areas, including guides for mask usage, cleaning and disinfecting, hand washing and social distancing.

For families with children, Clovis Unified Schools District has the information you need.

The district’s website at cusd.com/COVID-19 provides technology help for students, as well as elementary academic resources, secondary academic resources, wellness resources and information on meal delivery.

The district also provides mental and emotional health wellness guides to give support to families as they shelter-in-place.

There are also plenty of non-local resources that are available online for national and global information.

The Center for Disease Control (cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov) offers accurate and up to date information on the spread of the coronavirus and the U.S. The World Health Organization (who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019) is the go-to resource for reliable worldwide information on COVID-19.

COVID-19 information that is specific to California can be found at the California Department of Public Health’s website (cdph.ca.go).

And for local news and happenings in Clovis, look no further than the Clovis Roundup Newspaper, as our staff publishes daily updates on COVID-19 cases and news.

A full list of the resources mentioned in this article can be found below:

Ron Camacho was born and raised in Clovis. He attended Clovis High School and graduated from CSU Fresno in 2017 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications and Journalism. Before joining the Roundup, Ron wrote for Pollstar Magazine and the Sanger Herald. He has a deep appreciation for the arts and is a lover of music, cinema and storytelling. When he’s not busy looking for his next story, Ron enjoys taking weekend expeditions to the beach or mountains to practice landscape photography.