COVID-19: A Just Recovery

The reopening of Pennsylvania should proceed with caution. We are experiencing a healthcare emergency with no vaccine and no specific treatment. New projections raise the possibility of more than triple the number of current deaths by August. Opening too soon will cost lives, and there will be no recovery plan or reopening for those we lose.

Our reopening and recovery must be just as well. A just recovery will assure that frontline workers who have fed and protected us will have personal protective equipment and fair pay. A just recovery supports local governments and nonprofit organizations experiencing revenue losses. Women, minorities, and small businesses must be included in a just recovery. If we follow stay-at-home guidance now, we can stop the spread of the virus and reopen safely.

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month is a time to raise awareness and lessen the stigma of mental illness and substance abuse disorders. During this stay-at-home period, anxiety and depression have increased nationwide. Help is available:

• The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available online or toll-free 24/7 by phone at 1-800-273-8255;
• The statewide toll-free Support and Referral Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-855-284-2494 or for TTY, dial 724-631-5600;
• Montgomery County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness is accessible here;
• For Philadelphia resources, visit the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disability Services website.

We are all in this together. We can heal together.

Apply for PUA Benefits

Unemployment compensation is still available. The PA Department of Labor and Industry encourages those who are self-employed, independent contractors, or not eligible for regular unemployment compensation to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits. Documented proof of wages can include:

• 2019 tax returns or 2019 1099 form(s);
• Paycheck stubs;
• Bank receipts;
• Invoice statements and more.

If you haven’t submitted your information for benefits through the PUA program, please apply at www.uc.pa.gov/PUA.

Student Contribution to Haywood Academy

There has been a tremendous reaction to Haywood Academy at Arcadia University. Students have been engaging and interacting with the content. One student even recommended a video for the Academy. This is wonderful news and encouraged. For students interested in participating in Haywood Academy at Arcadia University, visit my website or email Alison LaLond Wyant of Arcadia University at lalondwyanta@arcadia.edu.

Access to Food: Updates

This Saturday, 9 May, the Share Food Program is providing contact-free deliveries for senior citizens and the disabled. Anyone on the waitlist for this past weekend’s program will have food delivered to them on Saturday. Those who received food on 25 April and all others in need must submit this form for consideration. Registrations are first-come, first-serve.

Philadelphia seniors, students, and families can locate meal sites and food access through the city’s new food finder website. A list of food pantries operating throughout the COVID-19 crisis is available on my website here. Face to Face Germantown is also offering food packages at 123 E Price St. every Monday, Thursday, and Friday from 12 p.m.-2 p.m.

Jenkintown School District has moved food pick-up this week to Thursday, 7 May from 12 p.m.-1 p.m. Food is picked up at 325 Highland Avenue, Jenkintown, PA 19046 in the school building car loop. For more information, please go here.

Musical Mood Boost

This week’s musical boost comes from a very musical family: Come on Get Happy by The Partridge Family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZClBsDpp-4.

Be the Light,

Art Haywood
State Senator
4th District

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