Community Resources
During COVID-19

In response to Governor Desantis’ direction and to help protect our women and families, we have closed our office until further notice. (July 2020 UPDATE – We are now open, by appointment only.)

Please stay tuned as we continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates via our website and social media. Additionally, a list of community resources is below.

Security & Scams:

• COVID-19 Scams Are Everywhere Right Now. How to Protect Yourself.
• Security and Scam Updates from Suncoast Credit Union HERE

IRS – Economic Impact Payments – What you need to know – LINK

Local & State Government Updates

Brandon Chamber of Commerce – LINK

City of Tampa – LINK

Hillsborough County – LINK

Florida Health – LINK

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Spiritual Online Services

Bay Life Church – LINK

Bell Shoals Baptist Church – LINK

New Hope UMC – LINK

Hyde Park UMC – LINK

Joy FM Prayer Line –  LINK

Emotional/Mental & Physical Health

Crisis Center

• Dial 211 on your phone to talk to a counselor. – LINK

Suicide Hotline

• If you or someone you know are struggling with thoughts of suicide, please call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Florida Domestic Violence Hotline

• FCADV operates and manages Florida’s 24 hour statewide hotline. The Florida Domestic Violence (FL DV) Hotline is a trilingual service provided 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
• Call 1 (800) 500-1119 / TTY Hotline 1 (800) 621-4202

ACTS 

• Clients must call (813) 246-4899 before entering the building for their initial assessment. – LINK

Phoenix Tampa – Virtual Options

• The Phoenix is now live-streaming classes (Crossfit/Yoga/Meditation) throughout the day via Zoom. As always, classes are designed for all levels from beginners onward. – LINK

The Outreach Clinic, Brandon

• The Clinic phone lines will be open and answered Monday – Thursday 10:00am – 4:00pm. Please allow 24 hours for a return phone call (except Friday – Sunday, those calls will be returned on Monday). All medical needs and issues will be triaged and addressed on an urgent need only.
• The Clinic will continue to distribute medication refills to existing patients, monitor all labs and medical tests and will handle new referrals by phone on a case by case method. – LINK

Crisis Text Line

• Text HOME to 741741 to reach a Crisis Counselor
• Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support via text. – LINK

Food Resources

ECHO (Emergency Care Help Organization)

• ECHO will be distributing food to the community through pre-made bags of groceries at both the Riverview and Brandon service centers. ECHO will also be putting the 6-month policy on hold in order to serve any neighbors in crisis in the community. Families can now come up to once a week.
• Brandon Campus – 507 N. Parson Ave. Brandon, FL 33510
  • Wednesday & Fridays from 9:00am – 1:00pm
• Riverview Campus – 7807 Capitano St. Riverview, FL 33578
  • Wednesday & Fridays from 9:00am – 1:00pm
• For more information, visit their website or call (813) 685-0935

Summer BreakSpot

• Agriculture Commissioner Nicole “Nikki” Fried and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) activated their Summer BreakSpot website, where families can find free meals for children under 18 during the current coronavirus school closures.
• Locations can be found on their website by clicking HERE

New Hope UMC

• Drive-up service for their Food Co-Op on the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month, 10:00 am – 10:45 am.
• 213 N. Knights Ave, Brandon
• Call (813) 689-4161 to pre-register
• Cost $5 per unit/Up to 2 units per family

Real Hope Ministries at Bell Shoals Baptist Church

• Drive-up service on Wednesdays from 12:00pm – 2:00pm.
• Located on the NW corner of Bell Shoals Road and Overhill Drive

United Food Bank of Plant city

• Open and distributing food every day, Monday through Friday. – LINK

Feeding Tampa Bay – Mobile Food Pantry

• Drive-thru services – Please check the schedule daily to ensure operations are running as planned.
• April Calendar – LINK

St. Stephen’s Food Pantry

• Open on Fridays from 10:30am – 12:30pm (Closed on Good Friday)
• Drive through service at 10118 Saint Stephen Circle Riverview, FL

Black Rock Restaurant

• Free food (one bag per car – 2 sandwiches and a bag of chips) to anyone who drives through
• Monday – Friday from 11:00am-2:00pm and 5:00pm-7:00pm
• 804 Providence Rd., Brandon, FL 33511; (813) 445-4511

Metropolitan Ministries

• Drive-up service 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday (while resources last) handing out pre-made, nonperishable food boxes and hygiene kits. Website
  • Tampa Campus: 2301 N. Tampa Street, Tampa, FL 33602
  • Holiday (Pasco) Campus: 3214 US HWY 19 N, Holiday, FL 34691

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Transportation

HART – Free Rides for Youth 18 and Under

• Beginning Monday, March 23, HART will offer free rides to students with a school ID or HART Youth ID on regular routes service Hillsborough County Schools. – LINK

HART – Changes to Schedule

• Due to closures along routes, reduced demand for service, and support of the Hillsborough County ‘Safer-at-Home’ order due to COVID-19, effective on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, HART will change its weekday and Saturday service operational hours to a modified Sunday schedule, with the operation of all express and limited express routes and Route 31 (Monday -Friday). There will be no HARTFlex services. On Sundays, HART will continue to operate on the Sunday schedule.

Rent / Mortgage / TECO Assistance

Federal Eviction Moratoriums

• The CARES Act provides a temporary moratorium on evictions for most residents of federally subsidized apartments, including those supported by HUD, USDA or Treasury (Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments) as well a moratorium on filings for evictions for renters in homes covered by federally-backed (FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac) mortgages for 120 days after enactment.
• Check to see if you are covered by city or zip code – LINK

City of Tampa – Relief Now, Rise Together Fund

• The City will remit payment, up to the amounts indicated below, directly to landlords, mortgagors, or to TECO on behalf of qualified relief recipients. This relief is a grant and does not need to be repaid. It is intended to be a vital financial bridge for those most in need until other state and federal support funds arrive. LINK
• Individuals/Families: Up to $1,000 for rent or mortgage; up to $250 for utilities. (To qualify you must currently reside in the City of Tampa)

Hillsborough County Social Services

• Continues to provide services to customers needing assistance with utilities and rent. Families can call the Customer Call Center through any of the numbers below to be screened and scheduled for a telephonic appointment.
  • Lee Davis – (813) 272-5220
  • Plant City – (813) 757-3871
  • SouthShore – (813) 671-7647
  • University – (813) 975-2153
  • West Tampa – (813) 272-5074

Metropolitan Ministries

• Coronavirus Disease Response Initiative – LINK
• Reducing direct service to “essential services”.
• Financial Assistance – Please call (813) 209-1000

Hillsborough County Evictions

• Public Information – LINK
• Evictions: NOTICE TO ALL LANDLORDS – If you are a landlord planning to file an eviction notice with our office, please note that the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office will NOT serve any eviction notices before April 20, 2020. Please DO NOT go to any Hillsborough Clerk’s Office or courthouse unless it is an urgent legal matter.

Suspending Disconnects Effective Immediately

• Payment Assistance – LINK
• No customer’s service will be disconnected for non-payment, at least through the end of March. Are you having trouble paying your bill? If circumstances make it impossible to pay your bill by the date due, we will discuss the possibility of granting a payment extension. Certain guidelines apply. To request a payment arrangement, please log in to tecoaccount.com and click on Your Account, followed by Payment Options to complete our Payment Arrangement request form. Please be aware that it could take up to two business days to process your request. If you need to make your arrangement sooner, call us at 877 TECO PGS (877-832-6747). – LINK

2-1-1

• Connects you with trained and supportive professionals who can provide assistance and more information about public and private health and human services. – LINK

Employment

Companies Hiring 

• Publix – LINK
• Thorntons – LINK
• Instacart – LINK
• Walmart – LINK
• Amazon – LINK
• CVS – LINK
• Walgreens – LINK
• Dollar General – LINK
• Dollar Tree – LINK
• Pizza Hut – LINK
• Papa John’s – LINK
• Domino’s – LINK
• Aldi – LINK
• Lowe’s – LINK
• Big Lots – LINK
• These companies are hiring workers in Tampa Bay – LINK

Work from Home Opportunities

• Liveops – LINK
• Teleperformance – LINK
• Workings Solutions – LINK

Free Learning

• 5 ways to learn new career skills for free during COVID-19 – LINK

Unemployment (aka Remployment)

• Florida residents whose employment has been affected by COVID-19 can apply for Reemployment Assistance benefits. Florida Reemployment Assistance Program can help you get monetary compensation while unemployed. – LINK
• Paper Application – LINK
  • If you are having trouble accessing the online application, please download a Florida Reemployment Assistance Application and mail to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
  • Printed Unemployment Forms Available at 2 Hillsborough Libraries – LINK
    • Locations: 3910 S. Manhattan Ave. & 2902 W. Bearss Ave

Department of Children and Families (DCF)

• The DCF COVID-19 site is updated as new developments roll out each day. Call center number is 866-762-2237 or 850-300-4DCF.
  • Mon-Fri 7:00am – 6:00pm
  • Sat. 8:00am – 12:00pm
  • Sun. 1:00pm – 5:00pm

• The fastest way to make changes or check on the status of your benefits is by using the Self-Service Portal. You can apply or reapply for benefits, report changes including your mailing address, upload documents to your account, check the status of your application and benefits all by using the Self-Service Portal.
• Returning Documents: If you need to return a document, you may drop off the document in the secured drop box located outside this facility. This drop box will be checked each day Monday-Friday. Documents dropped off after 5 p.m. will be dated received the following day. You may also fax documents to 1-866-886-4342 or mail them to the following address: ACCESS Central Mail Center P.O. Box 1770 Ocala, FL 34478-1770
• Applying for Assistance, Checking your Case Status, or Reporting Changes: Please call our customer service center at 850-300-4323 for telephonic service (TTY 1-800-955-8771) or visit the website for assistance with the SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid programs. Paper applications are located outside of this facility for your convenience and can be returned as described above.
• Completing your Interview: Customers are required to complete an interview to receive benefits. Complete your interview by telephone at 850-300-4323.
• Ordering an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) Card: Customers can order an EBT card, get information about EBT transactions, or report an EBT card as lost or stolen here, or by calling 1-888-356-3281.
• For information regarding DCF program areas and how COVID-19 may impact the services being provided, please visit our website.

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Last Updated: May 21, 2020

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Finally, we leave you with God’s word –

“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble.” – Psalm 46:1