For many we’re on our third week of home isolation, there’s been considerable job loss, and this new and evolving reality is setting in for people. The news is alarming and constant and then there’s the additional information to decipher about federal and state aid available. It’s all a bit much to digest. We have ideas and strategies for how to manage your mental and emotional health through all of this here, here, and here.
Our conversations with clients over the past several weeks have been largely about how to self-manage through all of this but in the last couple of weeks the dialogue has also included how to get access to the benefits available and understanding/navigating the aid packages. Beyond supporting you to manage and self-soothe through this, we decided that it would be helpful to have one place to capture information and resources specific to the aid available. Our intention is to update this post as we obtain more information to try to keep this as up-to-date as possible for our clients (and others who are following along on the Portland Mental Wellness blog).
In short, there are resources available at both the federal and state levels. We have broken out the information below by federal and state resources with a variety of links to content covering commonly asked questions as well as online applications.
FEDERAL AID RESOURCES
You’ve likely heard about the Coronavirus Relief Bill that was passed in the last week for 2 trillion dollars. That bill covers a lot including stimulus payments to individuals, expanded unemployment benefits, student loan coverage and more. This article in the New York Times does a good job of capturing the various elements at a high level in an easy-to-digest format.
Curious about how you personally will be impacted with the stimulus funds? This article focuses specifically on the stimulus check and includes a calculator to help you determine your personal payment amount.
Then there’s the federal government’s official page for all things COVID-19 related. While this isn’t specific to the aid, we thought it would be useful. This page has links to many other pages on a variety of topics related to this pandemic.
STATE AID RESOURCES
On March 8th, Governor Kate Brown issued a state of emergency to address the spread of COVID-19. On March 23rd, she issued the “Stay Home, Save Lives” executive order encouraging all Oregonians to self quarantine. While prudent leadership action to take in light of this pandemic we’re facing, the result is that many people find themselves in increasingly stressful situations due to job loss, lack of daycare options, attempting to work from home, if that’s an option, and more.
The Oregon Health Authority is the lead agency for the public health response to COVID-19. Their website contains a broad amount of information including the latest numbers for positive/negative tests and deaths for the state of Oregon.
If you’ve lost your job, you’re able to file for unemployment insurance as well as participate in health insurance through Oregon Health Plan. **At this time, Portland Mental Wellness is in-network with Oregon Health Plan.
Lastly, there’s a considerable amount of concern from people about paying rent and maintaining their housing. There are a number of Oregon laws in place to protect access to housing.
We know this time is alarming and inciting a lot of fear in people for a number of reasons -- concern for one’s own well-being or that of loved ones and friends, job loss, financial stress, grieving the change in anticipated plans and expectations, uncertainty in how this will be resolved and what the future holds, hoarding of resources, loneliness, and more. Fear and anxiety are natural responses to what we’re collectively experiencing. Remember to focus on the basics for yourself -- get plenty of sleep, eat well, at a minimum take a walk each day, focus on your breath, and try your best to stay in the present moment.
Be well.