Unemployment
If you have accepted to return to work with CPRG, we will continue to file your unemployment benefits for you each week. If you have declined the return to work offer, you will need to apply for unemployment on your own, as we can no longer file on your behalf. Details and the full application can be completed through the button below!
¿Necesita acceso a los recursos de COVID-19 en español? Utilice los enlaces a continuación para obtener más información:
Healthcare
In general, stay away from hospitals, clinics, etc. Any place where groups of more than ten people may gather – such as a waiting room – is advised against per Federal recommendations. Health issues will still arise during this time however. Whenever possible, utilize telehealth. Video conference or phone conference health screenings, drive through pharmacies, etc.
Team members enrolled in CPRG sponsored health plans can access telemedicine for a $10 co-pay. According to the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia website, if you do not have an insurance plan that includes this benefit (ie. Don’t have the CPRG insurance) you can still access this resource at a cost of $59 per visit.
Utilize LiveHealth Online - the BCBS of GA / Anthem telemedicine option – the service can be accessed from a computer, tablet or cell phone.
Expect a long wait time and be patient. A lot of people are looking to speak with a doctor right now. Though the wait may be frustrating, it’s safer than an in-person visit right now.
Nationwide, a federal ruling has listed restrictions on the use of telemedicine for those on Medicare. Older family members on Medicare should look to Telemedicine not an in-person visit whenever possible.
PlushCare.com is covered by Aetna, Anthem Blue Cross, Cigna, Blue, Humana and United Healthcare (some smaller entities as well) and will run you just the cost of your copay. If you do not have insurance, a doctor consult is $99.
Drondemand.com and their associated app offer telemedicine options. Psychiatrists and Psychologists are also available. Without insurance, a medical visit is a $75 flat fee, therapy is $129, and psychiatry is $299 for an initial visit.
CVS Pharmacy is offering free Rx and Home Essentials delivery. Delivery is expected to be available 2 -3 days After request due to limited driver services so plan accordingly and know when your prescriptions may run low. *Note, if CVS is not your normal pharmacy, call ahead to verify the cost of prescriptions. Due to their recent merging with Aetna, prescriptions through other insurers may be more expensive when filled through CVS*
As always, if you are having a medical emergency, call 911.
Utilities
Comcast is offering an Internet Essentials package.
This will be at a speed of 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps.
New customers will receive two months free services
Internet Essentials offered free for 60 days and then at $9.95 per month + tax
Current Comcast customers will receive unlimited data free of charge
Disconnections of internet service and late fees have been waived for any customer who says they cannot pay their bill
Comcast Xfinity and At&t hotspots are free to access, including for non-subscribers, for 60 days
AT&T has suspended terminations of wireless, home phone or broadband services for those who cannot pay their bills due to coronavirus disruptions
Verizon is waiving late fees and suspending service terminations
T-Mobile is providing unlimited data to all current customers with data plans
Charter communications is providing free Spectrum broadband and Wifi internet for the next 60 days to households with K-12 or college students who do not have a current subscription
Charter public hotspots are also free to the public
Georgia Power has suspended residential disconnections for the next 30 days beginning on March 13th.
Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (Jackson EMC) is suspending disconnections for nonpayment for March 16 to March 27
Water service disconnection orders are halted for 60 days in Atlanta as of March 13
Please bear in mind, balances will continue to accrue with these providers. They wont shut off your service during these difficult times but they will expect payment eventually. Pay what you can so the balance doesn’t get too high. Just know that these are bills you can put a little lower on the priority list if you need to decide what to pay and what not to right now.
If this list does not include your utility provider and you cannot find whether they are honoring the suspension of disconnections, CPRG Team Members may contact alyssavigneault@chaipani.com for assistance in finding additional information.
Food Assistance
Most schools that are closing are maintaining minimal hours during which they will be open and available to provide breakfast/lunch to children. Check your local school’s website for their availability details/schedule.
Fox5 Atlanta compiled a list of local schools with this offer and when/where to pick up food -
Beginning March 16, Atlanta public schools students can receive a free bagged meal daily Monday through Friday from 10am to 12pm at;
Douglass High School
Cleveland Avenue Elementary School
Bunche Middle School
Sylvan Hills Middle School
Phoenix Academy
Ready to eat meals are available beginning March 16
Hosea Williams Feeds the Hungry (4779 Mindy St. Atlanta 30366) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays from 10am to 12pm. Bring ID and social security cards
Loaves and Fishes at St. John the Wonderworker Parish (543 Cherokee Ave. SE Atlanta, 30312) from Monday to Friday 9-10am.
Atlanta Public Schools families can receive shelf-stable grocery items from the Atlanta Community Food Bank at one of the five schools from Monday through Friday from 10am to 12pm beginning March 23rd.
Food 4 Life – the Atlanta Survival Program is offering free grocery delivery for those impacted by COVID-19. Visit their website to request groceries or to volunteer or donate to the program
Bulk food is donated by charities, grocery stores, community groups and farmers
Grocery drop-offs are made directly outside the homes of people in need, avoiding direct contact.
The Community Food Bank of Atlanta structures a list of places to find a hot meal, groceries to take home, and screenings for SNAP/WIC eligibility via their website. They have also developed a new ‘Text for Help’ feature due to COVID19. Text “findfood” or “comida”(for Spanish service) to 888-976-2232. Texters are then prompted to provide their zip code and a response will be provided with the three closest food pantries to your location.
Staplehouse on Edgewood Avenue in the Fourth Ward is utilizing unused food in stock to offer a soup kitchen. The program is offered in collaboration with the Giving Kitchen. Meals are provided at no cost to out-of-work service industry folks affected by the recent layoffs. The program began on March 21 and offers 50 takeaway meals per day for pick up only. You may email info@staplehouse.com to reserve your meal box and schedule a pickup time between 1pm and 4pm.
Hampton and Hudson has created a general store. Goods are offered for pick up (or delivery within a 3 mile radius) - they offer everything from dips to casseroles, from beer to cookies. A free roll of toilet paper is available with each $25 order (be sure to add it to your cart before checkout). For delivery within the 3 mile radius, there is a $5 delivery fee.
Craving fast food?
Burger King has stepped up with preventative measures to keep interactions safe. If you go through the drive through, your food is provided on a tray from a worker wearing gloves so no one is touching your food bag. If you order through the Burger King App, you can receive two free kids meal with any purchase.
Chipotle is offering free delivery until the end of March on any $10+ order place at chipotle.com/freedelivery
KFC is offering free delivery on orders of $12 or more through April 26th. Order at kfc.com
If utilizing Doordash for other delivery, add a coke product and the discount code OTBCOKE for $5 off your order
Financial Assistance
The leadership at Chai Pani Restaurant Group has put together a Financial Relief fund for our team members.
This fund is built upon generous donations from our community and our leadership - including unique experiences auctioned off to the community by Meherwan and Elliott. Grants are limited to up to $350. Applications are due by April 3rd at 10am and award recipients can expect a respond and/or funds no later than April 10th.
An executive order was issued on March 17th, calling on Atlanta Housing Authority, Atlanta Beltline Inc., Fulton County / City of Atlanta Land Bank Authority, Invest Atlanta, Partners for Home and the City of Atlanta’s Department of Grants and Community Development to institute a temporary moratorium on residential evictions and filings for evictions for a period of 60 days effective immediately
Fulton Atlanta Community Action Authority
Provides assistance with utilizes and emergency financial assistance
Applications can take up to 30 days to process and have income limitations on eligibility
Unsure how applications are being processed without in-person office visits. Contact at 404-320-0166 for additional information and how to apply
The Giving Kitchen
Offices are closed. Email and call only for questions
Food service workers in Georgia who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and/or those who are under doctor’s orders for a mandatory quarantine should apply for assistance
Difficult for folks to get tested for COVID so hard to determine if qualified for GK Assistance.
They are working to develop a telemedical resource. While this cannot diagnose Coronavirus, if symptoms are present, the telehealth can assist in determining eligibility based on symptoms.
CORE
CORE stands for Children of Restaurant Employees.
This program is for Restaurant industry employees who have encountered extreme strain and have children to care for. They provide support in times of overwhelming financial or emotional strain.
Applications are accepted online at coregives.org/apply/
The program offers grants to qualified candidates that can help to cover medical bills for children, gas cards, groceries, clothing, medical supplies & therapies, utilities, rent/mortgage payments, and other essential needs specific to the given family’s situation.
This program is specific to restaurant employees who have children and experience the hardship of any of the following;
A. A Diagnosed medical condition (child or parent)
B. An Injury or Accident (child or parent).
C. Domestic Abuse (child or parent)
D. Natural Disaster, fire, or other housing emergency
E. The Death of an Immediate Family Member (child or parent)
Additional information and application are available at coregives.org.
The USGC National Charity Foundation has created a Bartender Emergency Assistance Program. Eligibility is limited to bartenders (and their spouses), bar backs, and bar servers. Applications are submitted online through their website at usbgfoundation.org
Southern Smoke, in tandem with the Restaurant Workers’ Charitable Foundation, is offering an Emergency Relief program for unforeseen circumstances not covered by insurance. Applications are doing online at southern smoke.org
Another Round Another Rally is offering $500 emergency relief grants to hospitality workers through their website anotherroundanotherrally.org
Financial Assistance – Debts
Most of your creditors – Credit card, mortgage, auto lenders, student loans, have hardship programs in place. Enrolling in a debt relief program will* aversely affect your credit so this should be considered a last resort. If you can’t make the minimum payments though, know that the programs exist.
Avoid using credit cards as much as possible – don’t put yourself in debt to get by. Minimize expenses and utilize assistance programs to get what is needed.
Schedulefly has partnered with SoFi to provide refinancing and personal loan options. AGAIN, these will hit your credit in the short term but may have long-term benefits so consider your ability to make minimum payments in this short-term scenario before looking at a refinancing option
SoFi has programs available for Student loan refinancing, personal loans, mortgage refinancing, and a debt calculator to help you consider the best options for your personal finances.
Navient – if you have student loans with Navient that are in good standing,
Federal interest is waved on all Federal student loans
If you call Navient, speak to customer service, and specifically say that because of COVID-19 or because of Coronavirus you are out of work and do not have income, they can enroll you in a disaster relief furlough – putting off all payment due dates for 90 days. You must mention COVID19.
Schedulefly has partnered with SoFi to provide refinancing and personal loan options. AGAIN, these will hit your credit in the short term but may have long-term benefits so consider your ability to make minimum payments in this short-term scenario before looking at a refinancing option
SoFi has programs available for Student loan refinancing, personal loans, mortgage refinancing, and a debt calculator to help you consider the best options for your personal finances.
‘Ahhh I have Cabin Fever’ – Entertainment, etc.
Live streaming classical music – A bunch of classical music organizations have come together to livestream their archives for free. From the Met to the London Symphony Orchestra – check out a list of free music available and links to their archives here!
BroadwayHD is a streaming service that streams Broadway shows online. Normally, a subscription costs $8.99 to $99.99 for a full year. You can do a 7 day free trial (just be sure to cancel before the trial ends or you will pick up that $8.99 monthly cost)
VidAngel - this video streaming app is particularly geared to parental controls. Parents can provide their kids access to thousands of TV shows from Netflix and Amazon prime, while setting filters that will skip child-inappropriate scenes. VidAngel is currently giving families free access for the rest of March.
The Orange Peel is collaborating with iamavl for The Quarantine Concert Series, a free live concert streaming series for Asheville (and everyone else) to enjoy. From jazz to funk and more, the series has dates scheduled through April 10. See the full schedule here, and donate to help support musicians here.
You can get a daily dose of science from Asheville Museum of Science (AMOS). The museum will email you free videos, activities, lesson plans + other science-related materials to explore at home. Sign up here.
DigLocal and Explore Asheville are working together to create a calendar of virtual events you can join during your period of social distancing. The page is currently under construction and event listings are coming soon
Asheville Area Arts Council has compiled a list of resources to stay creative + entertained during self-quarantine. From Asheville Symphony performances + virtual tours of the Asheville Art Museum to local authors to read, CreativeMornings talks, and more, you’ll be able to flex your imagination right here.
In need of an art fix? Southern Highland Craft Guild is hosting virtual exhibitions, including a guild member show and pieces from their permanent collection, including ancient textiles, craft traditions + more.
Google Arts & Culture offers virtual tours of museum spaces, including the Guggenheim in New York, the British Museum in London and the Acropolis Museum in Athens, as well as views into their vast collections.
Many other museums have their own tours and digitized galleries, including the Louvre, Vatican Museum, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Kids love animals! (and we adults do too, let’s be honest). How about livestreaming from the Zoo? Zoo Atlanta can be accessed from that self-isolated living room. The San Diego Zoo has live cameras (as well as archived footage) that allow virtual visitors to see what the penguins, tigers, koalas and other animals are up to.
Other popular zoos with streams and other digital entertainment include the Cincinnati Zoo, Houston Zoo and Oregon Zoo.
Like zoos, many aquariums have live-streams to show off what their residents are up to. Monterey Bay Aquarium has cams for sea otters, jellyfish, sharks, penguins and more.
Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta and Boston’s New England Aquarium also provide remote entertainment, such as live feeds and virtual tours.
To encourage spreading joy + music — rather than viruses — Moog Music and Korg are making their synthesizer apps available for free. You can get the Minimoog Model D Synthesizer and Korg’s iKaossilator, which let you make music with your fingers. Best of all: you don’t need any musical knowledge to make some sweet, sweet sounds.
NY Library has a virtual catalog of 300,000 books available.
Remote Education
Scholastic is offering free online courses for school-aged children (Pre-K to High School). Parents can access Scholastic learn at home at https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html
Duolingo – What better time to learn a new language!? Download the Duolingo app and start learning a new language today – for free!
Khanacademy.org has daily schedules for students age 2-18 to keep them learning. Ie. a structured list of activities for the day. Books and resources available on khan academy are free to access.
ABCmouse is offering free home access to their digital education programs. Your affected school or district will need to complete a form saying they’re impacted for enrolled families to access this online resource.
Crash Course and Crash Course Kids are websites that offer education video lessons on everything from space and science to mythology and literature
The Public Library
Don’t go there of course, but…
Through the Libby app, you can access free ebooks, audiobooks, and you can stream PBS video programs through Overdrive – including children’s videos, documentaries, instructional videos, and Spanish-language programming
RBDigital and Zinio are services through which you can access your library’s online subscription to hundred of digital magazines
Mental Health
The situation we find ourselves in is stressful and may induce anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns. Recognize those feelings and take active measures to connect, engage, and calm.
Connect with friends- utilize Facetime, Zoom, Skype etc. to have a video call with friends. Play a game over video call – talk out your anxieties – just connecting can be refreshing
Try something new – Remember that hobby you just don’t have time for anymore? Now you do. Combat the boredom and other nagging feelings by picking that old instrument or coloring book or paint-set back up.
Creative Classes are being offered for Free now through 3/31 online at Brit.co/learn. Use the code SELFCARE at checkout and you can check out lots of awesome classes – from watercolor to wedding photography to photoshop skills. They also have a podcast called ‘Teach me something new’.
MoodSpace – a mental health and mindfulness app that has recognized the situation we are in and made the full app Free during the coronavirus quarantine.
Moodspace features ‘Three Clouds’ in which you write three good things that happen each day, ‘Thought Diary’ in which you identify and challenge warpy thoughts, ‘Mindful Meditation’ to calm your mind by meditating on your own or with a guide, and ‘Day Planner’ – feeling productive (even if it’s 1. Shower 2. Eat Breakfast 3. Read. Etc.) is a great way to maintain balance and stave off cabin fever.
From the makers of the Calm App, comes a curated collection of free meditations. These range from Sleep meditations, to calm music, to soothing (ie. Calming fear, tackling worry) meditations, practices to find ease, meditations for kids, and a few yoga classes. The calm app itself is a bit pricey but has amazing additional resources. Check out the free collection at: https://www.calm.com/blog/take-a-deep-breath
Headspace – Headspace has some free meditations available online at headspace.com/covid-19. If you can download their free app, create a free profile. In the app, go to ‘Explore’ on the bottom toolbar. The top button on the Explore page is called ‘Weathering the Storm’. Here you will find calming meditations, 10-day meditation courses, SOS sessions, At-Home workouts, Help with sleep, and Advice for tough times – all Free 😊
Under stress and other emotional strains, those who have struggled with substance abuse may find themselves craving a meeting. Of course, please utilize remote meeting resources to keep healthy and safe. Check out this directory of virtual meetings so you can continue to take it one day at a time from the safety of your own home.
National Alliance on Mental Illness - Online and Telephone Support Groups
Quarantine Chat App to help relieve loneliness