Thinking about life in Lewisburg during the time of COVID-19, this is a hard time for everyone. We have healthcare workers on the frontline of dealing with the medical challenge of the infection or -- in our area --at least preparing to be. We are all being asked to make sacrifices and rise to challenges. It turns out that grocery store employees, people in food service, waste haulers, truckers, and pharmacists are all also among the heroes of the moment.  The local press, too.  They are proving their worth literally daily (for example with this compilation of remote AA meeting options).

The impacts and implications of enacting social distancing are far reaching. There are people losing their childcare, losing their jobs, losing their livelihoods, losing the viability of businesses they have created. There are people who were already at risk, whether from hunger, housing insecurity, abuse, or addiction, who are now plunged into even greater danger. And there are also organizations and individuals coming together to address these problems.

At the national level, Congress is working to generate a relief package, currently another stimulus bill, following the infusion of money to the stock market, that will provide broad relief in the form both policy, action, and financial aid. Some of the results should include more testing for everyone and personal protective equipment for Health Care Workers as well as addressing the agonizing financial hit we are all encountering, with a focus on the workers who drive the economy and are most vulnerable to this crash. While some people are insisting we choose between our lives and our livelihoods right now, we know that is a false choice. It makes no sense to insist we choose. We must work together rather than be divided. And we must confront the problem of the viral plague in order to then also address the economic issues. Together/apart.

At the state level, there are a variety of initiatives underway including no interest loans for small businesses from the Small Business Administration, consideration of mortgage/loan/student loan forbearance, and eviction bans, though no action yet on those fronts. Unemployment Compensation has been streamlined and the waiting period and job search requirement eliminated. As of now, eyes are on other states and countries where rent has been suspended and utility cut-offs outlawed. All of these measures are intended to combat the obvious and immediate pressures of an economy at a standstill and help people who may have no or far less money coming in to continue to cover their continuing expenses.

Locally/regionally, there are initiatives by the United Way, Union Snyder Community Action Agency, the Union Snyder Area Agency on Aging, and other partnering organizations like local food banks and Transitions to help connect people in need to services. They have also developed an emergency fund for families in need in collaboration with the Degenstein Foundation. They have a program called 2-1-1 that operates all the time and is just what people are looking for in this time of crisis. You can reach it either by phone or online and input your zip code to find what you need. In additional all the local school districts are working to ensure that the school closure does not also mean kids going hungry. They have organized boxed lunch and storage breakfast drops around the Lewisburg Area School District to ensure that even kids without access to transportation can get fed.

As of this writing, we do not yet have known community transmission in the valley, but it is anticipated that we will eventually. Our healthcare workers are among those most pressed by the simultaneous school closures and the urgent need for their professional services. United Way is also looking into making arrangements for childcare for these critical care workers along the lines of provisions developed in Seattle and NYC which are further ahead in the outbreak timeline.

There are certainly still many needs that will fall through the cracks. That's where the neighborhood steps in, with personal support. You may have neighbors who are already stepping up to make sure that elderly neighbors and friends have a way to pick up the groceries they've ordered, help with yard work while they are indoors, or a chance to have a nice chat on the phone. If you would like some suggestions on how to make that happen on your block in a more systematic and comprehensive fashion, please contact us at news@LewisburgNeighborhoods.org or 570-523-0114 (leave your phone number!).

For those who want to be a helper, stay tuned for a separate post on that, but the short answer is to please go to the Greater Susquehanna Valley United Way signup genius and get plugged in for when the call for volunteers goes out.