“Rents Are Late, and ‘It’s Only Going to Get Worse’” – The New York Times
“Credit … Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times
by
“First it was the waitress whose restaurant closed. Then the waiter, the bartender, the substitute teacher, the hairdresser, the tattoo artist and the Walgreens manager.
“One after the other, the tenants called and emailed their landlord, Bruce Brunner, to say they were out of work and the rent was going to be late. A week after the bill was due, some two dozen of Mr. Brunner’s 130 tenants had lost their jobs or had their hours reduced. He’s working out payment plans and using security deposits as a stopgap while directing tenants to the emerging patchwork of local, state and federal assistance programs.
“’Six weeks ago, you could name your price and you’d have multiple people applying,’ said Mr. Brunner, who lives in Minneapolis, where he owns and manages 20 duplexes and triplexes across the city. “’Now you’re deferring and working out payment plans, and it’s only going to get worse.’”
Read this article at The New York Times, click here.
PA Department of Health COVID-19 Translations in Multiple Languages
The Pennsylvania Department of Health Website has a page with numerous Translated Materials and Resources
Fact Sheets (as the one above) in Multiple languages available at the PA Department of Health as well as these fact sheets from the CDC. All are available on the Dept. of Health Website.
- What You Need to Know (CDC)
- Symptoms of COVID-19 (CDC)
- What to Do If Sick (CDC)
- Stop the Spread of Germs (CDC)
- Wash Your Hands (CDC)
“Pandemic exposes low pay and scant protections for nursing assistants and home-care aides” – The Los Angeles Times
“Personal care assistant Maria Colville leaves home for her job caring for an elderly woman in Watertown, Mass. – (Lane Turner / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
by Rowan Moore Garety
“When she heard friends working at Lowe’s were in line for $300 hazard-pay bonuses, Allanah Smit wondered why her employer, Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Miss., had no such plans. ‘Healthcare workers deserve hazard pay too,” she declared on Twitter. “Yes, we chose this profession, but we didn’t sign up to fight a global pandemic with ONE N-95 respirator and improper PPE.’
“As a certified nursing assistant, Smit makes just over $14 an hour to bathe, feed, and reposition patients recovering from car accidents, strokes, and major surgeries like hip replacements. When elective surgeries were suspended last week as the coronavirus spread from hot spots such as New Orleans, Smit began caring for patients with symptoms of COVID-19.
“As the healthcare system braces for the full impact of the pandemic, the shortage of doctors and nurses in epicenters like New York has gotten massive attention.
“Less scrutiny has been paid to home health aides, personal care aides and certified nursing assistants — ”
Extraordinary times | Being prepared in the time of COVID-19 (The Conversation Project)
“The Conversation Project has created a specific and succinct worksheet especially for documenting your healthcare wishes during the time of COVID-19. Please click on the above graphic (or here) to download, complete and discuss with your health care decision maker and family.
thoughts: about mortality, faith, dying alone in times like today’s
The Washington Post: “Now is a time where people actually need to have the discipline of keeping in regular contact.” – Norman J. Williams, the long-time director of Unity Funeral Parlors in Chicago.
“The coronavirus has changed so much about our lives. It has also changed how we deal with death.
“Social distancing and stay-at-home orders have essentially brought an end to large funerals and memorials where people can share their grief. A brief hug to comfort a mourner is potentially lethal.”
“‘Let Us Stay In Touch With Those That We Love.’ A Funeral Director’s Lessons For Life.” – NPR
“Rita Ghai stood with her daughter Samta in the doorway of their Pittsfield home.” – ERIN CLARK/GLOBE STAFF
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“A pandemic that ruptures familiar rituals around dying and death | ‘All any of us wanted to do was hold his hand,’ said a woman whose father died alone in a hospital.” The Boston Globe
“An employee at a funeral logistics center near Paris carries a coffin for a covid-19 victim on Monday.” (Benoit Tessier/Reuters)
by a funeral director and the owner of A Sacred Moment funeral services in Everett, Wash.
“A large family in the area had long planned to honor their beloved, ailing patriarch with an elaborate funeral at their church, followed by a graveside service and a meal. Even before he died, we had this gentleman’s clothing hanging in the back room of our funeral home, ready for the day they’d put him to rest.
“When he died on March 15, I had to tell the family that they couldn’t have a funeral at all. They were devastated.” Continue reading.
“The United States is about to endure a collective trauma unlike anything in recent memory.”
ADIMAS – STOCK.ADOBE.COM
“President Trump, long a coronavirus skeptic, stood before a room of White House reporters Tuesday afternoon and offered sobering new message.
“’I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead,’ he said. ‘We’re going to go through a very tough two weeks.’
The United States government was projecting that the new coronavirus will kill 100,000 to 240,000 Americans. Many of them, it seems, could die in the coming month. And epidemiologists warn that the eventual total could be substantially higher — maybe 400,000 or 500,000.” – The Boston Globe
“A Mass is live-streamed from an empty St. Augustine Church & Catholic Student Center in Coral Gables, Fla., on March 29.” (Lynne Sladky/AP)
by and
“Perhaps the question most asked of either of us lately — whether as a theologian or a religious liberty attorney — is whether religious liberty is imperiled by government officials responding responsibly to the threat of the covid-19 pandemic. We do not think so.
“Americans treasure not only the ‘free exercise’ of religion but also the “right of the people peaceably to assemble” as articulated in the First Amendment and practiced with minimal interruption since our nation’s founding. When asked to curtail any part of it — even temporarily — Americans’ skepticism reveals just how treasured religious freedom remains and the enduring vigilance with which they maintain it.
“Most people are willing to tolerate temporary restrictions on even our most treasured liberties if it means demonstrating love for neighbor in a time of crisis. Of course, the key to that tolerance is that the restrictions be both temporary and necessary.” – The Washington Post
Two stories | about persons with a disability
Ed Roberts | “How a student with his 800-pound iron lung pioneered disability rights, changed U.S. law” – The Washington Post
by
“Today, ventilators help pump air into the lungs of patients with the novel coronavirus and other illnesses who cannot get enough oxygen on their own. Modern units are relatively compact. But in the past, massive iron lungs were the only option for people with polio and other illnesses — and a tussle over one person’s iron lung would help pave the way for the Americans With Disabilities Act, ADA.
“Paralyzed from the neck down, Ed Roberts needed an iron lung to help him breathe. But when officials at the University of California at Berkeley learned he planned to bring his 800-pound breathing device with him to college in 1962, they tried to revoke his acceptance.
“Roberts had already faced down discrimination over his disability:” Continue reading.
Litsa Dremousis | “Yes, I’m disabled. But I still love sex.”
by
“If I had known I’d get hit with a disabling neuroimmune illness when I was 24, I wouldn’t have waited until I was 20 to lose my virginity. I would have gotten an earlier start, making the most of my body while it fully cooperated.
“When I was able-bodied, guys asked such as questions ‘Have I seen you before in a dream?’ or ‘What did Botticelli do after he painted you?’ Cheesy questions, no doubt, but imbued with the assumption I’m a sexual being. After I became disabled, they tacked on still dumber questions, such as ‘Are you contagious?’ Or even ‘Can you have sex?’ (More than once, I’ve answered, ‘Yes, but not with you.’)
“Sex is a potential minefield for all of us, but for years, I’ve had to dodge the shrapnel on crutches. Continue reading.
“Homeless facing ‘a disaster for families’” – The Boston Globe
“Darling Pierre was living with her two children in a Dorchester shelter when news broke about the coronavirus. Here’s how they’re managing. (Video by Caitlin Healy/Globe Staff, Photo by Erin Clark/Globe Staff)”
by
“When Erin moved into the Medford shelter in January, the 39-year-old mother finally felt a measure of hope.
“She’d made a wrenching break with her old life, fleeing an emotionally abusive relationship and signing up at a technical school to study medical office administration. She quickly secured a voucher and enrolled her 3-year-old son in preschool.
“The illness sweeping China was on her radar, but barely. It seemed like people were overreacting.
“Then, in the space of a few days, her world imploded: Her son’s preschool shut down. Her own school moved online. And the small income she’d earned walking dogs evaporated, as did, seemingly, her fresh start.”
Read this Boston Globe article in its entirety, cllick here.
Looking for reliable information about coronavirus? | Look to reliable sources.
Looking for local information about coronvirus?
Each of the Link to Aging and Disability Resources Service Area 13’s hospital systems have helpful information at their Websites. Service Area 13 includes Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon Counties.
PennMedicine | Lancaster General Health
BE SURE TO GET YOUR INFORMATION FROM RELIABLE SOURCES!
Pennsylvania Department of Health
Coronavirus Resources for Pennsylvanians provided by Senator Casey’s office
There continues to be a lot of concern about the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Pennsylvania and across the country. I’m reaching out to share some resources to help you, your family and your community navigate the challenges of these extraordinary times.
CLICK HERE OR ON THE ABOVE GRAPHIC TO ACCESS THE SEPARATE LINKS.
There is a lot of concern right now about the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, in Pennsylvania and across the country.
Below you will find resources to help you, your family, and your community navigate the challenges of this difficult time. This page will be updated regularly to best reflect the most updated information available.
Senator Casey’s office remains ready to meet the needs of Pennsylvanians remotely. Should you need direct assistance, please contact the office either by phone at (202) 224-6324 or on my website here.
Additionally, Pennsylvania residents are encouraged to sign up for AlertPA, a text notification system from Commonwealth agencies for health, weather, and other important alerts like COVID-19.
Grandparent scams in the age of Coronavirus
“Grandma: I’m in the hospital, sick, please wire money right away.” “Grandpa: I’m stuck overseas, please send money.” Grandparent scams can take a new twist – and a new sense of urgency – in these days of Coronavirus. Here’s what to keep in mind.
“In grandparent scams, scammers pose as panicked grandchildren in trouble, calling or sending messages urging you to wire money immediately. They’ll say they need cash to help with an emergency – like paying a hospital bill or needing to leave a foreign country. They pull at your heartstrings so they can trick you into sending money before you realize it’s a scam. In these days of Coronavirus concerns, their lies can be particularly compelling. But we all need to save our money for the real family emergencies.
“So, how can we avoid grandparent scams or family emergency scams? If someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a grandchild, other family member or friend desperate for money:
- Resist the urge to act immediately – no matter how dramatic the story is.
- Verify the caller’s identity. Ask questions that a stranger couldn’t possibly answer. Call a phone number for your family member or friend that you know to be genuine. Check the story out with someone else in your family or circle of friends, even if you’ve been told to keep it a secret.
- Don’t send cash, gift cards, or money transfers– once the scammer gets the money, it’s gone!
“For more information, read Family Emergency Scams. And if you get a scam call, report it to the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.|
SOURCE: news release
