Social distancing, self-isolation, quarantine: the changes from COVID-19 can be hard to handle. Please use this page of resources to help you and your family through this time.

BUSINESS HOURS & CONTINUED SERVICE:

For an album of Restaurant Menus, click here.

FOOD & OTHER ASSISTANCE–

Meals on Wheels:

This service is brought to you by the Washington Community YMCA, the Washington County Hospital and local area churches. The meals are prepared by the hospital and delivered by church volunteers. The Meals on Wheels Program is for any individual(s) of any age or income. Meals are designed for those persons who are recovering at home from a recent hospital stay or just need a hot meal on a daily basis. Special and Restricted diets can be observed. The meals are delivered Monday through Friday in Washington city limits only. Please contact Jolleen Cerka at (319) 653-2141 or membership@washingtony.org for more details. The cost of this meal is $3.50.

Summer School Lunch Program (CLOSED) We know that lunch at school can be a critical part of a child’s development and with the closure of the schools due to COVID-19 we are concerned about feeding our students, the Washington Community School District is offering school lunches for pick up 2 days/week (Mondays & Wednesdays). We drop off to multiple sites (map), and we will deliver to our rural community students. You will receive 2 lunches on Monday & 3 lunches on Wednesday to get your child(ren) through the week. You can also access the survey through the district website. We only serve meals on Mondays and Wednesdays. Thank you to all of our staff who are providing meals through this time of need!

HACAP Food Pantry Hours (2176 Lexington Blvd)
Monday – Thursday 1- 4:30 pm
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 8-11:30 am
Please call ahead to schedule a time 319-653-7275

The Lighthouse Center (604 S. Iowa Ave)
Food Pantry Hours: 8 am – 8 pm 7 Days a Week (Please call with questions or for assistance 653-5871)
Emergency Shelter Available: the shelter is available to those who need it. At this time we are in a self imposed shelter in place. We are monitoring residents & staff for symptoms of COVID-19 & are not allowing outside visitors or volunteers at this time.

Donations Needed: Canned Goods & Dry Goods (Mac N’ Cheese, Hamburger Helper, etc.)

United Way of Johnson & Washington County Community Relief Assistance Fund:

United Way of Johnson & Washington Counties is proud to partner with organizations and individuals to fund urgent needs for rental assistance, medications and/or household supply essentials for those directly impacted by COVID-19.  100% of the donated funds are distributed back into the community with no percentage retained for United Way administration.

Guidelines to receive help from UWJWC Community Disaster Relief Fund:

1. Available to individuals with COVID-19 related needs from March 16, 2020 forward
2. Urgent needs for rent assistance, medications, household supplies
3. All Disaster Assistance Funds are distributed to vendors needing payment. No funds will be distributed to an individual
4. Completed Disaster Assistances Intake and Signed Release Forms are required for consideration
5. All Disaster Assistance Requests and Intake will be completed over the TELEPHONE to maintain social distancing– NO Walk-ins are permitted
6. Requests will be processed in order received
7. Disaster Assistance decisions are dependent on funds available
   

TO GET ASSISTANCE

Statewide 211 is available 24/7/365 located in United Way of Central Iowa
Assisting helping Iowans with COVID-19 impacts, mental health calls and calls to nurses.
Contact 211, 211.org, www.211Iowa.org, text zip code to 898211, dial 211

Call 319-259-9218 for Disaster Assistance
Go to: https://www.unitedwayjwc.org/United-way-community-disaster-assistance
To Make a Gift to the Community Disaster Relief Fund: Click HERE

ENERGY ASSISTANCE:

If you need support with your energy bills during this difficult time, there are resources available to help. The federal government has increased funding to several programs due to COVID-19. Crisis funds are available to customers who are income qualified and are in a financial crisis. You can apply for these funds even if you have already received LIHEAP funding or if you have not received assistance in the past. Alliant Energy is now reviewing income guidelines as a forward-looking month, for those who have recently lost their job. CLICK HERE.

MENTAL HEALTH–

COVID Recovery Iowa:

Need help coping with 2020? COVID Recovery Iowa is here to help! Iowans of all ages may join groups online to find support and learn creative strategies for coping with the effects of the pandemic. COVID Recovery Iowa will announce additional programs in the coming weeks to help Iowans build coping skills and resilience and are currently offering free virtual counseling and assistance for all Iowans affected by COVID‑19. Counseling sessions with virtual counselors are available by video, chat or phone 24/7. Call 1-844-775-WARM or click HERE for more information.

Iowa Concern Hotline:

a toll-free phone number, live chat capabilities and a website, Iowa Concern services are available 24 hours a day, seven days per week at no charge. Iowa Concern provides access to stress counselors and an attorney for legal education, as well as information and referral regarding legal, finance, stress, or crisis and disaster issues. Call 800-447-1985 or visit https://www.extension.iastate.edu/iowaconcern/

$10 for $50 Shop Local Promotion: COMPLETED AS OF MAY 24, 2020 

One of the best ways to help support the local economy at this time is to Shop Local! Now is the time to order food for pick up or delivery, get groceries, purchase a gift certificate to use later, or make online purchases at our local retailers. From April 1 until May 31, if you spend $50 or more, we will mail you $10 in Chamber Bucks for supporting local shopping! Please visit $10 for $50 Promotion to learn more and for the submission form.

City of Washington & Governmental Info

Governmental info & links are located at:

https://washingtoniowa.gov/news-stories/coronavirus-covid-19/.

Groceries for Good
Join Main Street Washington and the Washington Chamber of Commerce as we help support our local HACAP food pantry. During these challenging times the most vulnerable & food insecure really suffer. There is a significant increase on demand for assistance. For every $1 you donate, our local HACAP branch can purchase 6 lbs or about $12 worth of food to help those in need. Click the title to be connected to our donation page. Every dollar donated will be even to HACAP.

Washington Dines In (with Take Out) on Friday Nights!
Join Main Street Washington, the Washington Chamber of Commerce as we Dine In with Take Out every Friday Night. Support local restaurants & share what you & your family are enjoying from our great Restaurants & Bars across the community! Share your pictures of your favorite take out on Facebook by tagging us @MainStreetWashington or @WashingtonIowaChamber or by using the hashtag #washingtondinesin

For the album of Local Restaurant Menus, click HERE.

Washington Buys Local Saturdays!

Join Main Street Washington & the Washington Chamber of Commerce as we support Local Businesses Online. Please consider purchasing one product, service, or a Gift Card from a local business on Saturdays! (Really everyday, but Saturdays for the event) Share what you & your family have purchased & why you love who you purchased it from!

Share your pictures on Facebook by tagging us @MainStreetWashington or @WashingtonIowaChamber or by using the hashtag #WashingtonBuysLocal

The Greater Washington Business Partnership & the City of Washington are working hard to provide links to resources for all our community businesses during this time. Programs are constantly being developed and evolving. Download our new Return to Business Toolkit to help plan your strategy as you get back to business.

Confused about what assistance is available for your business? Check out the COVID-19 Federal Response Resource Matrix developed by the USDA.

BUSINESS GUIDANCE:

Iowa’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has an excellent website that pulls together many resources into one place. You can also request an appointment with an SBDC counselor. SBDC offers one-on-one counseling that can be done through zoom (skype or hangout) meetings or phone conference calls. They can help you through loan application process or other business issues that this crisis is causing including distribution, sales, buying, marketing, HR Issues and more. Our regional SBDC representative is Paul Heath at the University of Iowa. He can be reached at paul-heath@uiowa.edu or 319-335-3742.

Iowa Department of Public Health- COVID-19 Outbreak Guidance for Businesses (released 4/8/20)- information for businesses on how to prevent, detect & manage potential cases of COVID-19 in their business.
PDF HERE: IDPH Guidance for Business

STIMULUS & BENEFITS:

Southeast Iowa Union’s Business Marketing Grant: The Southeast Iowa Union Business Marketing Grant will provide up to $50,000 in matching advertising credits to assist locally owned businesses impacted by COVID-19. The credits can be used toward print or digital products published by the Southeast Iowa Union. Grants will be awarded in $100-$1000 increments with a dollar-for-dollar match. They can be used in the Southeast Iowa Union, the Washington Evening Journal, the Shopper, or on southeastiowaunion.com. Awards will be made in May, June, & July to be spent during that month. Please visit https://www.southeastiowaunion.com/marketinggrant for more information & to apply.

Professional Beauty Association COVID-10 Relief Fund – $500 grants to licensed beauty professionals who are unable to work due to the coronavirus. Applications open on Monday, April 20^th.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) / Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act – The PPC provides a loan to businesses with fewer than 500 employees to keep their workers on the payroll. The Small Business Administration will forgive these loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the loan is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities. Employees of businesses that take advantage of the PPP who are recalled to work (or are being paid full-time pay and benefits) are not eligible for unemployment benefits, and if they have a current claim, they should update their claim appropriately to reflect the day they were no longer eligible for unemployment benefits. For more information on the PPP click here.
PPP Documents & Additional Information: CARES Act Overview, PPP Sample Application, PPP Calculator Illustration, Coronavirus Emergency Loans Small Business Guide and Checklist (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) –

• SBA has a new, streamlined online loan application with no filing requirement to provide tax returns, financial statements, etc. – one application which includes the EIDL loan and an EIDL Advance. 
• To apply online for an EIDL loan go to:  https://covid19relief.sba.gov/.
• Small businesses may request an Advance of $1,000 per employee, up to $10,000.
• The EIDL Advance does not have to be repaid. 
• There is no cost to apply and no obligation to accept an approved loan.
• A local Small Business Development Center counselor may be able to help – to find one, visit: https://www.sba.gov/local-assistance.

EIDL Fact Sheet; EIDL Fact Sheet Spanish

Guide to SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

SBA’s Customer Service Center

• To check the status of your loan application or Advance, call SBA’s Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
• SBA is presently processing millions of loan applications – there may be delays at our Customer Service Center – please be patient, don’t give up – keep trying to get through.

Don’t know which program to apply for? Check out this handy chart comparing the EIDL & PPP programs.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA or Act) requires certain employers to provide their employees with paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for specified reasons related to COVID-19. These provisions will apply from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. Please display this poster for your employees. ffcra_poster

Employee Retention Credit is a refundable tax credit against certain employment taxes equal to 50 percent of the qualified wages an eligible employer pays to employees after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. Eligible employers can get immediate access to the credit by reducing employment tax deposits they are otherwise required to make. Also, if the employer’s employment tax deposits are not sufficient to cover the credit, the employer may get an advance payment from the IRS. Employee Retention Tax Credit Guide (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)

IOWA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT– For more information about the following programs please click HERE.

• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – The FPUC program provides individuals who are collecting regular Unemployment Compensation (UC).
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – This program provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits to individuals who are self-employed, independent contractors, nonprofit employees and gig economy workers, as well as to individuals working part-time, or who otherwise would not qualify for regular UC or EB under state or federal law or PEUC.
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – The PEUC program provides up to 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to individuals who have exhausted regular unemployment benefits under state or federal law, or have no rights to regular unemployment benefits under state or federal law.

Latest Webinars

• National Resources & Policy Updates for Small Businesses

• Unemployment Claimant Webinar: COVID-19 Information

• Unemployment for the Self-Employed
• CARES Act Q&A with Sen. Joni Ernst
• United Way-JWC Community Disaster Relief Fund
• Coronavirus Uncertainty: Respond with Resilience (Mental Health)