A variety of recovery resources are listed below to help those in our community in need.
- Child Care Resources
- Emotional Support
- Financial and Housing Support
- Food Resources
- Healthcare and Well-being Resources
- Legal and Workplace Resources
- Refugee, Immigrant, and Tribal Communities
- Senior Citizen Resources
- Student and Teacher Resources
- Violence Prevention
Child Care Resources
- Childcare Providers Support
- Child Life Disaster Relief offers digital and printable resources on how to help children cope with COVID-19.
- Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral Child Care Guidance
- Iowa Department of Human Services Resources
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Virtual Learning Support Program for UI Student Parents of School-Aged Children
Emotional Support
Feeling stress and anxiety is normal during a pandemic. Several resources are available to support mental, emotional, and physical health.
- Abbe Health Services provides mental health and aging services.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stress and coping resources available.
- Christian Century offers pastoral care guidelines.
- COVID Recovery Iowa program is offering free virtual counseling to Iowans affected by the pandemic.
- How Right Now offers resources for individuals experiencing a variety of emotions during the pandemic.
- Iowa Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team provides mental health services across the state after a disaster.
- Iowa Refugee Counseling Center offers virtual counseling sessions for refugees and immigrants.
- Mental Health America offers resources for specific demographics such as parents, caregivers, or veterans.
- Pandemic Parenting is a free program available to parents in East Central Iowa counties. This program offers resources on resilience, personal wellness, emotional support, and more.
- Prelude Behavioral Services provides substance abuse and behavioral health services to Iowans. In addition, Prelude operates the Employee Assistance Program via the Synchrony program.
Crisis/Help Lines and Chats
- CommUnity, formally the Crisis Center, has support resources by phone (Crisis Call/Text: 1-855-325-4296) and Online Chat.
- Crisis Text Line 24/7: Text "HOME" to 741741 to connect to a counselor for support.
- Iowa Concern Hotline is a resource for Iowans needing support related to legal matters, finances, stress, or crisis/disaster situations. The Hotline is available at 800-447-1985.
- Iowa 211 Toll-Free is available to connect Iowans with the social services they need for their particular circumstance. Call 866-469-2211; Alternative: 319-739-4211.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers a help line, resource guides, and education.
- National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Disaster Distress Helpline is available for anyone experiencing emotional distress from a disaster. This Helpline is available 24/7, 365 days: 1-800-985-5990.
- Veterans Crisis Line: Veterans can connect with a responder via call, text, or online chat 24/7.
- Warm Line: This non-crisis telephone service is available to anyone daily from 5 - 10 p.m. Staff answering calls are available to provide support, empathy, and community resources. The Warm Line can be reached at 1-844-775-9276.
- Your Life Iowa Statewide Crisis Line is available for those experiencing emotional distress in a crisis and can be reached at 855-581-8111.
Kids Resources
- Children’s Mental Health Committee
- Healthy Kids School-based Health Clinics (HKSBHC) offers free medical services to children in Johnson County.
- Iowa Department of Education
- Iowa Pediatric Mental Health Collaborative
- Mental Health Technology Transfer Center
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Youth.gov
- Resources on how to talk to kids and reduce anxiety related to COVID-19:
Workplace Support
- Center for Workplace Mental Health shares information on how to maintain a healthy well-being while working from home.
Financial and Housing Support
Local Assistance for Johnson County and Iowa City renters
- Emergency Broadband Benefit Program provides financial support for internet service to low-income households.
- Emergency Housing Assistance: If you need housing assistance and your household income is below 80% of the area’s median income (eligibility chart), the City encourages you to do the following:
- Contact Shelter House at 319-351-0326. Shelter House administers several different housing relief programs, including housing eviction and foreclosure prevention with funds through the City's Community Development Block Grant-CV program.The program can assist with up to 6 months of rent, mortgage, or utility assistance. If you receive or have received State assistance, you can apply for this program after their assistance ends and there is no duplication of benefits.
- For more information, view the handout, which is available in multiple languages.
- Family Investment Program (FIP) is through the Iowa Department of Human Services, and offers financial assistance to families in need.
- FEMA COVID-19 Funeral Assistance program offers financial support for funeral expenses after January 20, 2020.
- Financial Counseling for Iowans is available through ISU Extension and Outreach.
- HouseIowa.org lists many resources related to housing, including affordable housing assistance, shelter for those in need, and assistance for renovation and repairs.
- Iowa Finance Authority:
- Housing Recovery Help Line: 855-300-5885 or 515-348-8813
- Iowa Emergency Solutions Grant CARES Act (ESG-CV) offers resources to prevent households from becoming homeless as a result of eviction.
- Iowa Homeowner Foreclosure Prevention Program provides eligible COVID-19 impacted homeowners at imminent risk of foreclosure with mortgage assistance for up to four months, with a maximum assistance of $3,600 per household. The short-term program will be available until funds are exhausted or a new federal program is launched.
- Iowa Housing Recovery offers updates and information on available housing resources.
- Iowa Rent and Utility Assistance Program provides eligible COVID-19 impacted renters with rent and/or utility assistance for a total of up to 12 months. Program Handout:
- Johnson County Social Services can help residents access many essential services like childcare and clothing, food and legal assistance, and health services.
- Shelter House Rapid Re-Housing offers housing support to individuals or families that are homeless or in need of housing.
Food Resources
- CommUnity Crisis Services and Food Bank has opened a new Iowa City Food Bank Location. Visit the website for more information.
- Double Up Food Bucks offers free fruits and vegetables to those in need of food assistance.
- Feeding Iowans Task Force is a statewide resource to assist Iowans that are food insecure during the pandemic. A variety of food resources are listed on the website.
- Food Bank of Iowa has a map tool to locate food support resources.
- Free Food Delivery is available to Johnson County residents in need.
- HACAP, the community action agency serving Johnson County, offers mobile food pantries and other nutrition services.
- Iowa Department of Human Services offers food security resources.
- Student Food Aid is available to K-12 students who may not have access to meals due to school closures through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Program.
Healthcare and Well-being Resources
Healthcare
- Insurance and Financial Support:
- Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is available through Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (Hawki) for uninsured children.
- Healthy Kids School-based Health Clinics (HKSBHC) is an Iowa City Community School District program and offers free medical services to children in Johnson County.
- Iowa Department of Human Services has resources for individuals that are uninsured including the Application for COVID-19 Testing Coverage.
- University of Iowa TeleMobile Clinic is offering free appointments for individuals that are uninsured. For more information, text or call 319-535-2684.
- Department of Health and Human Services has information on telehealth services during this time, as well as, information on the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
- Iowa Developmental Disabilities (DD) Council has compiled resources to help individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities.
- Mask Helpers: Need a mask? Mask Helpers connects those that make masks with those that need them.
- Post-COVID-19 Clinic is available for individuals that have recovered from COVID-19.
- Society for Health Communication has a variety of health communication resources.
- State Supplementary Assistance (SSA) is a Medicaid program to assist individuals with special needs or disabilities.
- TestIowa: Participate in this health assessment initiative to increase testing capacity across the state.
- CDC offers information on self-testing.
Well-being
- Meatless Monday has information on how plant-based eating can support the immune system.
- World Health Organization offers exercise tips.
Legal and Workplace Resources
View legal and workplace-related resources on the Economics Resources web page.
Refugee, Immigrant, and Tribal Communities
Multilingual COVID-19 Resources
- Guides, Handouts, and Documents:
- Phone Contacts:
- EMBARC offers a crisis response helpline, resources, and news in multiple languages.
- Iowa International Center offers a free housing interpretation hotline for landlords and tenants by calling 515-282-8269, ext. 5 (180+ languages)
- Iowa Mortgage Help offers a statewide hotline for foreclosure assistance, financial questions, and more by calling 877-622-4866.
- Iowa Spanish Helpline: The Office of Latino Affairs, EMBARC, and The Iowa Spanish Helpline Task Force have collaborated to provide this helpline for assistance with matters related to healthcare, employment, education, and more in Spanish. The helpline is available Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 515-344-3936.
- Multilingual Hotline: Several languages are available from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at 1-877-558-2609.
- Videos:
- American Sign Language videos
- City of Iowa City has recorded video messages with recommendations from the CDC in Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Swahili, and French.
- Congolese Health Partnership Iowa
- Protecting Our Community video series (available in English, Spanish, Lingala, Swahili, French, Arabic, and Kinyarwanda):
- Video 1: What is coronavirus?
- Video 2: How can we prevent coronavirus?
- Video 3: How do we seek care for coronavirus?
- COVID-19 FAQs video series (Video 1: COVID-19 Symptoms and Prevention, Video 2: COVID-19 Testing, Video 3: Seeking Care, Caring for the Sick, and Resources for Those Who are Sick) in the following languages:
- Protecting Our Community video series (available in English, Spanish, Lingala, Swahili, French, Arabic, and Kinyarwanda):
- I Care Mask Challenge offers mask wearing recommendations in multiple languages.
- Iowa Civil Rights Commission offers videos on fair housing information in multiple languages (Translated Brochures)
- State of Hawaii has created several informational videos in Marshallese, Korean, Tagalog, Ilocano, Mandarin, Chuukese, Cantonese, Japanese.
- The Refugee Response offers a variety of COVID-19 related videos in several languages.
- Emotional Support:
- Caring for Yourself in Stressful Times (Refugee Alliance of Central Iowa and U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants)
- Iowa Refugee Counseling Center offers virtual counseling sessions for refugees and immigrants.
- Managing Stress and Anxiety During COVID-19 (The Refugee Response)
Refugee and Immigrant Resources
- Bureau of Refugee Services (BRS): If refugees have questions, or have concerns pertaining to their benefits or unemployment, they can call 515-875-5600.
- Community Connection (video series): Refugee and Immigrant Association works to bridge barriers during the pandemic
- National Employment Law Project Immigrant Workers' Rights offers information and frequently asked questions for immigrants related to their employment.
Tribal Communities Resources
- CDC has resources on social distancing, household preparedness, and other guidance documents related to COVID-19.
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Center for American Indian Health has several COVID-19 Materials Developed for Tribal Use.
Senior Citizen Resources
- Cyber-Seniors Mentor Program is meant to keep senior citizens connected digitally and offers lessons and videos on different computer skills.
- Heritage Area Agency on Aging offers a registry to help get essential personal care items to seniors in need.
Student and Teacher Resources
College Resources
- CDC Toolkit for Colleges and Universities
- College Board has put together a variety of online resources to help prepare high school juniors and seniors for college planning.
- Student Loan Advisory Service is available for students in need of COVID-19 financial relief or support.
- Tips to Help College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic
K-12 Resources
- ACT
- CDC:
- Heartland Area Education Agency has guidance for English learners.
- Illinois Autism Partnership offers a School Closure Toolkit for children with autism.
- Johnson County Resources for Families offer academic, mental health, and well-being resources.
Violence Prevention
- Community Connection (video series): Domestic violence awareness and resources available during a pandemic
- Domestic Violence Intervention Program: The emergency housing and hotline, a free 24/7 service, is available by calling 800-373-1043.
- Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence offers victim services programs across Iowa.
- Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CASA) offers victim services and the Victim Service Call Center that can be reached by calling 1-800-770-1650 or texting "IOWAHELP" to 20121.
- Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: The Stop Hate Project was launched in an effort to reduce hate incidents and provide support resources.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a variety of resources related to COVID-19.