Do You Need Help? A List of Services Presently Open in Kalamazoo Area 3.20.2020

Meals are served at Ministry with Community for breakfast and lunch 500 North Edwards Kalamazoo.

Gospel Mission Lunch and dinner 448 N. Burdick (you do get an ID card for services when you come).

Child Care – Drop-In Center is still open at Congregational Church in downtown Kalamazoo, located 345 West Michigan Avenue. 269-382-3640 (please ask neighbors, friends, etc.) Please also communicate with care.com.

Unemployment insurance is available to you by apply immediately on-line and also by calling 1-866-500-0017 (The system is crashing due to the rate of those applying.) (Michigan.gov

Unemployment Benefits
Michigan.gov Handbook for Unemployed Michiganians

Here are job ideas for immediate temporary employment: All pharmacies are in need of drivers; pizza delivery; Lyft; Uber; Meijer; Shipt; other grocery stores; all delivery services for grocery (Door Dash is not accepting applications). Go to places that are having a surge due to the Coronavirus. Meijer is hiring seasonal staff due to the major uptick in traffic at its stores. Many other retail food stores are also hiring. Walmart announced the company is looking to hire 150,000 additional workers. The positions will start out as temporary but could transition to permanent jobs for many, the company said.
Go here.

Disaster emergency services – 211

To volunteer to help – 211

Seniors needing help – Area Agency on Aging – (269) 373-5147, located at 3299 Gull Road Road in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Meals on Wheels – (269) 382-0515 (It is also number for Senior Services).

Coronavirus hotline for questions  – 1-888-535-6136

Loaves and Fishes, 901 Portage Street, 269-343-3663 (curbside services)

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services – 1-855-444-3911

The IRS has extended the tax deadline in 2020 through July 15 (extra 3 months to pay). The information is here.

Consumers’ Energy will not turn-off energy of those who cannot afford to pay: check here.

Charter Spectrum (844-488-8398) and Comcast are offering free Internet for 60 days

Talk to your landlord
If you are a good tenet and pay your monthly rent, I can’t encourage you enough to proactively talk to your landlord and explain the hardship you are in. It's far more expensive for them to evict you or find a new tenet during the crisis. Most good landlords will want to work with you to help get back for a month or two of rent. If not, call 2-1-1 and ask about possible housing our utility assistance available.

If you have infants or toddlers, St. Luke's has a diaper bank where you can get free diapers. 

This is a service for displaced bartenders: here.

Meals from Schools are delivered to your local school Monday (2 days of meals), Wednesday (2 days of meals), and Fridays (3 days of meals). Please check your individual school website for details. This website will also supply information. MDE - Map Available to Find Meals for Children During School Closure MDE - Map Available to Find Meals for Children During School Closure found here.

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will suspend any foreclosures and evictions through April

If you cannot afford to pay your Consumers Energy or City of Kalamazoo Water Bill, your service will not be cut off during the COVID-19 crisis. You will still be charged later but they will not disrupt these vital needs.

Kalamazoo Public Library area borrowers have free access to eBooks and eAudiobooks via Hoopla, cloudLibrary, and OverDrive (Libby app); eVideos via Hoopla; eMagazines via RBdigital; and eMusic via Hoopla and Freegal. Search the catalog, or browse a few of their curated digital collections.

New York public library will lend up to 300,000 e-books on-line SimplyE, nypl.org
Free classes and kids activities


As of March 20, 2020

Compiled and verified by Michelle Zukowski-Serlin, Co-Owner/Executive Director Choices for Change Counseling Agency
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