HELPFUL RESOURCES DURING COVID-19

Most Reliable Health Information

Meeting Family Needs (Food, Internet, etc)

For most up to date information for the county: https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/COVID-19 

  • Senior meal sites: will transition to carry-out only; locations include: 

    • Arlington Court, Clinton Rose Senior Center, College Court, Convent Hill, Dolan Community Center, Elks Lodge, Fernwood Court, Franklin, Greater Galilee, Grobschmidt Senior Center, Hart Park Senior Center, Kelly Senior Center, Lapham Park, McGovern Park Senior Center, Milwaukee Christian Center, St. Aloysius, Washington Park Senior Center, West Allis Senior Center, and Wilson Park Senior Center. Indian Council for the Elderly will be transitioning to carry out meals beginning on 3/19

  • Senior Centers:  the five county-owned senior centers are closed for all programming; the following locations are closed for both the senior center and the senior dining sites: 

    • Beulah Brinton, LGBT Community Center, Muslim Community Health Center, OASIS, and United Community Center. Asian American Senior Center will be closing the senior center and the senior dining site beginning 3/18

  • Coggs Center: the Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center at 1220 W. Vliet St. will be closed to the public effective 3/17

  • Aging Resource Center: While the office is closed for walk-in visits, consumers can still call our Aging Resource Call Center at (414) 289-6874. 

    • Aging Resource Center staff are minimizing face to face contact with consumers and will be conducting their appointments over the phone.

  • Meals on Wheels: service will continue as normal

  • Disability Services: To minimize possible transmission of the virus, we are suggesting consumers to call our Disability Resource Call Center at (414) 289-6660 if you have questions or need assistance with: 

    • Burial Assistance, Go Pass, Adult Long Term Services 18-59, Adult Protective Services, Disability Benefits Specialist, Disability Resources and Information

  • Energy Assistance: Energy Assistance sites are temporarily closed, and residents are urged to move in-person visits to phone calls. 

    • 2020 Energy Assistance applications can be completed by phone. Visit KEEPWARMMKE.ORG or call 414-270-4-MKE (4653) to reschedule or make an appointment. 

    • In case of a no-heat emergency, call 2-1-1.

  • Internet: Spectrum is offering free 60 days of internet to households with K-12 or college students. Call 1-844-488-8395 to enroll. Must be new to Spectrum, other restrictions apply

  • Mobile Legal Clinic suspended until April 3, see link

  • Parks: Closed for all programing, but otherwise open

  • Zoo: Closed until further notice 

  • Buses: No closures, but request that use be limited to essential needs

  • Courthouse: Courthouse remains open with shifts in operating procedure until April 3rd, see changes here

FOOD PROGRAMS

  • Milwaukee County Interactive Food Pantry (updated daily by Hunger Task Force)

    • St. Mark AME:

      • Giving away food to anyone in need

      • Address: 1616 W Atkinson, Milwaukee, WI 53206

    • MPS: 

      • “Grab n go” lunches at 20 sites

      • Hours: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm, Monday – Friday

      • Children do not have to be receiving free lunch already, open to all children

    • Boys and Girls Club:

      • Providing lunch and dinner for those under 18 at six locations

      • Phone: (414) 267-8100

    • Burger King offering free meals, information here.

    • Capuchin Community Services: runs 10 meal programs locations and times here

      • Will be take-away service only

    • Frieden Community Ministries: Food Pantries 

      • Coggs Center, 1220 W. Vliet St, link

        • **one time only** pantry

        • Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 4:00 pm

      • Despensa de la Paz, 1615 S. 22nd St, link

        • Hours: Saturday 10:00-12:00 pm

      • Hope House, 209 W. Orchard St., link

        • Tuesday and Thursday, 12:30 – 2:30 pm

        • Saturday, 10:00-12:00 pm

      • Zion Rock, 10230 W. Fond du Lac Ave, link

        • Tuesday, 5:00-7:00 pm

        • Saturday, 10:00-12:00 pm

    • Eastbrook Church is located at 5353 N Green Bay Ave. The food pantry is open Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Mondays from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 pm. For more information call (414) 228-5220, ext. 110.

    • Interchange Food Pantry is located at 130 E. Juneau Ave. Its hours are Tuesdays 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesdays 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. For more information call (414) 551-2184 or visit its Facebook

    • Riverwest Food Pantry is located at 924 E. Clarke St. Its hours are Tuesdays 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. For more information, call (414) 301-1478, or visit its website or Facebook 

    • FreshFin Poke:

      • Offering free bowl of rice, chicken, sauce and veggies for K-12 students; Monday-Friday 1-3pm, see Facebook page

      • Only available at the Milwaukee East Side Shop (1806 E. North Ave.)

    • Mr Greens:

      • Mr. Greens will be giving out free meals on Friday, March 20th at 11am at 60th and Silver Spring, see Facebook page

    • The Tandem: 

      • The Tandem will be giving away 150 free meals from 11am-4pm (or until meals are gone); they seem to be doing this almost daily, see Facebook page

      • Address: 1848 W Fond Du Lac Ave

      • You can also donate to Tandem to support their community work

    • Toppers Pizza:

      • Offering free small pizza, no purchase necessary, no strings attached. Monday-Friday 11am-1pm, see Facebook page (all Milwaukee area locations) 

    • Mobile Market 

      • Mobile Market still open regular hours. See calendar for schedule

      • The Mobile market is a mobile grocery store inside of a semi-truck trailer. All food is 25% off

      • Fresh meats, produce, dairy, & eggs

      • Does not take cash

    • Ma’Ruf Center for Youth Innovation Emergency Grocery Kits

      • Includes: Rice, Bread, Oil, Meat, Lentils

      • Available at the following grocery stores:

        • Attari Supermarket
          3042 S 13th St,
          Milwaukee, WI

          Biryani Palace
          5326 S 27th St
          Milwaukee, WI

          Garden of Eden (Amanah)
          1011 W Mitchell St
          Milwaukee, WI

State Benefits

  • State website:https://govstatus.egov.com/wi-covid-19

  • Marcia P. Coggs Human Services Center: Building closed to public

  • Milwaukee Child Protective Services Building: Building closed to public

  • To access or apply for benefits

    • During the closure, applicants are encouraged to apply for FoodShare, health care, or Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy benefits using the ACCESS website. Clients can also access services by phone by calling (888) 947-6583 (voice) or 711 (TTY), Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

    • If members would like to check the status of programs and benefits they are enrolled in, get reminders about actions they need to take, and submit and track documents, they can try the simple and convenient MyACCESS mobile app.

    • Documents can be faxed to (414) 438-4580 (without a document tracking sheet) or (888) 409-1979 (with a document tracking sheet). Applicants/members are strongly encouraged to use the MyACCESS app to upload documents when possible. Documents can also be mailed to: Marcia P. Coggs Building, 220 W. Vliet St., P.O. Box 05676, Milwaukee, WI 53205

    • Families can request a new authorization or changes to a current child care authorization by calling (888) 947-6583 during regular business hours of 8:00 a.m to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, or 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursdays. They can also visit the online, mobile-friendly Parent Portal at any time using their ACCESS username and password. Users can also use the Parent Portal to submit and track a child care authorization request, view child care authorization and notices, and check the balances on MyWIChildCare EBT card. Those with questions about the Parent Portal can visit the DCF website.

Healthcare

*If you have symptoms of COVID-19, please call your primary health care provider or a healthcare facility BEFORE visiting a healthcare facility.

    • UWM Nursing Center: Limited hours at this time, will know more by the end of the week

    • Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin, see link:

      • Temporary guidelines on visitors, volunteers and events

      • FastCare clinics temporarily closed 

    • Ascension Healthcare, see link:

      • If you have a fever, cough, or respiratory symptoms, please call (833) 978-0649

      • Ascension Online Care is also offering video urgent care visits at a discounted rate of $20, so you can talk to a doctor from home. No insurance required. Use the code HOME at Ascension Online Care

      • Temporary visiting restrictions

    • Advocate Aurora Health, see link:

      • Call the 24-hour hotline at 1-866-443-2584 if you have been exposed to COVID-19

      • Visitation limit

Mental Health Support

  • A 24-hour Disaster Distress Helpline is available for additional support. It is run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Callers will be connected to crisis counselors who are trained to listen and offer support to people in emotional crisis. SAMHSA acknowledges that stress, anxiety, and other depression-like symptoms are natural reactions to something as widespread as COVID-19.

    This toll-free helpline offers multilingual, confidential crisis support services:  

    ·         For English, call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746

    ·         For Spanish, call 1-800-985-5990 and select option 2, or text “Hablanos” to 66746

    ·         For deaf or hard of hearing individuals, call their TTY line at 1-800-846-8517 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 

    More information can be found at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline.  

  • Mental Health/ Dealing with social isolation: Milwaukee County’s 24-Hour Crisis Line at 414-257-7222.

  • Crisis Text Line 

  • Alcoholics Anonymous

  • Narcotics Anonymous 

  • Coronavirus: How to protect your mental health (Article)

  • Dealing with Social Isolation 

Social Connections

    • John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts: 

      • Lunch doodles with Mo Willems for kids and adults alike

      • Facebook Live at 12PM EST, link

    • Food Network Kitchen

      • Daily Dinner with Chef Michael Symon

      • Chef Michael makes easy, pantry meals live every day for the next 10 days on facebook live

      • Facebook Live, 5PM EST, link

    • Planet fitness is offering free fitness classes through Facebook Live:

    • Museums offering virtual tours--check out a list of 12 here

Census 2020

Sample of questions asked

  • How to ensure it’s really the census:

    • The outer envelope's return address will say "U.S. Census Bureau" and "U.S. Department of Commerce,"

    • They will never ask for SSN, credit card information, anything on behalf of a political party, money or donations

    • For tips to avoid scam, see here

  • Responding Online

    • Online response guide

    • Go to 2020census.gov, must enter in your unique ID from you Census 2020 mailing

  • Responding by mail

    • Mail response guide

    • If you do not respond online, you will be mailed a questionnaire 

    • Mail back in the return envelope provided

  • Responding by phone

    • Phone response guide

    • For English call 844-330-2020

    • Otherwise, call the number for the language you need (see guide)

Keeping Kids Engaged/Busy at Home

Spring Election

The pandemic is forcing many voters to use absentee, mail-in ballots. Unfortunately, if you live alone, or if there is not an adult United States citizen living in your household, you won’t be able to obtain a witness signature on your mail-in absentee ballot. If you are staying Safer at Home, intend to vote by mail-in absentee ballot, AND you live alone or do not have an adult US citizen in your household, then please contact Jon Sherman at the Fair Elections Center, jsherman@fairelectionscenter.org or (845) 596-9081.