PHMC Resources

CSL Students,

Scroll down for valuable information about funding opportunities, masks, COVID-19 resources, a new workforce development center, the Day of Silence and a moment of inspiration!

COVID-19 Resources, New Workforce Development Program, and Day of Silence Invitation Dear Friends,  Today, the Chicago Sun Times reported that Mayor Lightfoot announced Chicago's stay-at-home order could extend into June and this year's Blues and Gospel Festivals have been cancelled. These things are hard to hear as we continue sheltering in place for what feels like a very long time. Like all of you, PHIMC's staff strives to manage, accept, or embrace our new temporary normal and usher the young people in our care through the challenge of not returning to brick-and-mortar school this year, not seeing their friends in the hallways or receiving face-to-face instruction. I want you to know we are with you -- we share your anxiety, and the fear and sense of isolation this creates.  Our staff email threads have been illuminating under quarantine. We are learning very important things like the names of everyone's pets, who works at a table, who works at a desk, and who does and does not crave peanut butter M&Ms at 10:00 a.m. We have also been sharing insights, struggles, points of light, and coping mechanisms -- such as long walks, daily affirmations, online dance classes, more frequent family phone calls, cooking, and baking.   What are you learning this week that you did not expect to learn? What points of light or coping mechanisms are working for you? Write us back. We want to know.   As always, we want to be sure you're aware of the following opportunities and resources to support your work during the COVID-19 crisis.  We are also excited to launch a new workforce development program, Northeast Illinois Area Health Education Center; announce the first round of mask deliveries by our partner, Chicago Frontline Angels; and invite you to join us in showing solidarity with LGBTQ+ young people by marking the Day of Silence this Friday, April 24.   Thank you for your everyday work and support of community health and well-being during this pandemic. Thank you for the care you give to others at your jobs, in your homes, at your places of worship, in your neighborhoods, and for the care you give yourselves.  To stay up to date on the most breaking information, local issues, and resources, please visit the State of Illinois and/or the City of Chicago Coronavirus Response Center.   Sincerely, Karen A. Reitan President & Chief Executive Officer Funding Opportunities Groundswell Fund has broadened their Rapid Response Fund during COVID-19. Eligible organizations are led by women of color, low-income women, and/or transgender people. Organizations must center organizing, base-building, and advocacy as key strategies for building power and achieving social and reproductive justice to qualify for funding. Learn more here.  Technology Funders Collaborative: Chicago foundations that support community organizing have come together to respond to the technology divide due to COVID-19. Grants through the Technology Funders Collaborative will support innovative organizing strategies that now rely on technology more than ever. The Collaborative includes Albert Pick Jr. Foundation, Comer Family Foundation, Conant Family Foundation, Crossroads Fund, Field Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Polk Bros. Foundation, Woods Fund of Chicago, and Wieboldt Foundation. Grants will be issued on a rolling basis. Find more information on funding criteria, eligibility, and application process here.   Need a Mask? Photo from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention You may have seen one of the many YouTube videos for sewing your own mask. Even if you don't sew, we've got you covered:  Here are instructions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for making a mask using household materials.  Here is a DIY video from The Union for Contemporary Art for mask-making with "just an old t-shirt and some scissors."  #MasksNowIllinois invites us all to make masks if we can, or to request masks if we need them. There's a form to fill out via their Facebook page here.  Chicago Sun-Times reported on an effort to get masks to black communities on Chicago's West Side starting at Creative Salon in the Lawndale neighborhood. Read more.  Chicago Needs Assessment for Community Service Organizations In response to COVID-19, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Associate Professors Wendy Bostwick and Sage Kim, Co-Investigators with Center for Health Equity Research Chicago, are assessing current and future needs of Chicago-based community service organizations. They are seeking responses from those working at Chicago-based, non-profit, community-service organizations. Once compiled, findings will be made available to policy and programmatic stakeholders. This 10-item survey should take 5-7 minutes to complete.  COVID-19 Resources For healthcare workers and first responders  The City of Chicago along with health, hotel, and other partners created a microsite to offer a variety of free resources and supports for healthcare workers and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, including:  Free virtual support groups provided by NAMI-Chicago  Free individual and group psychotherapy provided by CDPH  A mental health resource dashboard featuring free apps, self-assessments, hotline supports, video tutorials, and fact sheets hosted by CDPH  Hotel-based housing provided by the City of Chicago for healthcare workers and first responders wishing to temporarily live separately from family due to concerns about exposure to COVID-19  Free access to childcare provided through a partnership with Sittercity or provided by Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) Child Care Assistance Program   Free and discounted transportation options from PACE, Metra, Divvy, and CTA shares information about immigrant eligibility for public programs during the COVID-19 pandemic   For individuals and families  The US Treasury Department has clarified that Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients with no qualifying children will receive automatic COVID-19 economic impact payments. SSI recipients with qualifying children under the age of 17 will need to visit the IRS website to access a tool that will calculate and send the economic impact payment. The press release is here, and the IRS portal for SSI recipients with qualifying children is here.  Anyone seeking transportation and other services to flee a violent situation - including domestic violence and human trafficking - can contact the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline, which is available 24/7, directly at 1-877-863-6338 (1-877-TO END DV). Operators will send an Uber or Lyft to the location and transport the individual to a new location of their choosing.  The Illinois Housing Development Authority has created and shared a COVID-19 FAQ webpage, which addresses questions about rental and homeownership assistance. Find the page here. The Illinois Workers Compensation Commission adopted an emergency rule that first responders and front-line workers are assumed to qualify for workers' compensation if they are exposed to or contract COVID-19. The full list of covered first responders and front-line workers is available in the full rule here. The Illinois Department of Human Services' Mental Health Division has launched a free-of-charge emotional support text line called Call4Calm. The text line is for Illinois residents experiencing stress and mental health issues related to COVID-19. The text line connects individuals with a professional who will respond within 24 hours. To speak with a mental health professional, text TALK or HABLAR to 552020. Texting other key words to the same number (such as "unemployment", "food", or "shelter") will provide information on how to navigate and access supports and services. Learn more here. For people living with HIV  AIDS Foundation of Chicago's COVID-19 Resource Center offers tips on accessing healthcare, unemployment assistance, housing, mental wellness, and more. AIDS Foundation of Chicago and Center on Halsted's HIV Resource Hub is taking requests for emergency help paying rent or utilities related to COVID-19. Learn more here or call 844-HUB-4040 today. The Hub can also connect individuals to HIV testing, medications, case management, PrEP, medical care, food, mental health services, substance use treatment and more. AIDS Foundation of Chicago shared that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ten national, community-centered HIV service and advocacy organizations partnered to create a resource guide focused on supporting people living with HIV, available here. Chicago Frontline Angels Delivers Masks Concerned for the safety of the doctors, nurses, and staff fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Frontline Angels (CFA), a group of Chicago healthcare workers and other skilled professionals, recently partnered with PHIMC to acquire urgently needed personal protective equipment (PPE), including lifesaving N95 masks, for Chicago area hospitals and frontline workers. You can read our joint press release here.   In the past week, CFA delivered masks to Roseland Community Hospital, South Shore Hospital, and Chicago Department of Public Health. The phenomenal nurses at Roseland greeted CFA volunteers by saying, "That's right, we ARE Angels on the Frontline!" which could not be more true. PHIMC joins the CFA volunteers in saying THANK YOU to these providers and to the administrators who made the donations seamless.  If you want to help, $5 gets another mask to Chicago's frontline healthcare workers via COVID-19 Chicago Frontline Angels.  Chicago Frontline Angels delivers masks to Roseland Community Hospital and South Shore Hospital PHIMC Launches New Workforce Development Center Northeast Illinois Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is part of the National AHEC Organization developed by Congress in 1971 to recruit, train, and retain a health professions workforce committed to underserved populations. PHIMC now manages and administers Northeast Illinois AHEC, to prepare the next generation of public health professionals and to inspire, support, and encourage young people from underserved communities to consider careers in the health professions.  Northeast Illinois AHEC focuses on students and professionals in the healthcare field serving low-income communities, rural communities, communities of color, and people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender-nonbinary.  Learn more here about how you can get involved. PHIMC Marks Day of Silence - April 24, 2020 Day of Silence is an international student-led demonstration where LGBTQ+ students and allies take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in schools. Started in the mid 90's by two college students, the Day of Silence has expanded to reach hundreds of thousands of students each year. Every April, students go through the school day without speaking, ending the day with Breaking the Silence or Night of Noise rallies and events to share their experiences during the protest and bring attention to ways their schools and communities can become more inclusive (Source: GLSEN).  For more information on Day of Silence, please visit the GLSEN website. Every year, Illinois Safe Schools Alliance -- "the Alliance," which is now a program of PHIMC -- supports youth organizing activities for the Day of Silence in Illinois. This culminates in locally organized Night of Noise events throughout the state where communities come together to break the silence, rally for the safer schools movement, and celebrate their own participation in Day of Silence as agents of change in their own communities. The Alliance provides Day of Silence kits to registered Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs) throughout the state containing Illinois-specific resources, locally developed Day of Silence swag, and curricular materials developed by the Alliance's Youth Committee.  Recognizing that schools are closed and students will not be physically present to silent protest this year, the event is going virtual and PHIMC is stepping up to demonstrate support for and solidarity with LGBTQ+ students around the world. We invite all of you to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ+ students and allies by participating in this year's Day of Silence with us in one or both of the following ways:  Share a Day of Silence Selfie - We encourage you to join us by taking a photo of yourself with this sign on Friday and sharing it on social media. Tag the following accounts in your posts: @phimcnews & @ilsafeschools & @glsen. Also, please include the hashtags #DayofSilence and #BreakingTheSilence to show solidarity and support for LGBTQ+ students.  Take a Vow of Silence - PHIMC is taking a vow of digital silence on Friday, April 24, 2020 from 12:00 until 3:00 p.m. We invite other adult allies of LGBTQ+ youth to join us. You are welcome to use our out-of-office message as a sample: Thank you for reaching out. PHIMC has taken a vow of digital silence until 3:00 p.m. today, in solidarity with students in over 10,000 middle schools, high schools, and universities worldwide who -- each year -- take a vow of silence to protest the harmful effects of harassment and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in schools. If you're curious, you can learn more here about GLSEN's Day of Silence and see how students are marking the day virtually this year. I will respond to your email after we are back online. Sincerely, Me A Moment of Inspiration If you are looking for positivity, John Krasninski, most famous for portraying 'Jim' from The Office, has created a YouTube series called Some Good News, which spotlights feel-good news from the past day. Below is a clip from the show of the original cast of Hamilton performing over Zoom for one of their fans. Play Here Thank you for your work and support.

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