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Community Resources
This page is under construction. Please check our Resources tabs on the COVID-19 page.
General Help/Assistance Databases:
- 211 & United Way of Central Florida
- Referral Services through 2-1-1: These include, but are not limited to: Childcare for frontline professionals, first responders, medical staff and essential employees -continued education, health and financial stability courses through remote platforms, bi-monthly food drops at 12 locations that represent food-insecure locations throughout our community. For the quickest response, text your zip code to 898-211.
- Community Resource Opportunities
- Volunteer Opportunities: While your health, safety, and wellbeing is the first priority; we are continuing to receive requests on ways our community can help through this time. Please visit our volunteer opportunities link for more information.
- Relief Funding
- Referral Services through 2-1-1: These include, but are not limited to: Childcare for frontline professionals, first responders, medical staff and essential employees -continued education, health and financial stability courses through remote platforms, bi-monthly food drops at 12 locations that represent food-insecure locations throughout our community. For the quickest response, text your zip code to 898-211.
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Aunt Bertha
This database will help you find food, health, housing, employment programs, and other community resources in seconds.
Unemployment/Reemployment & Disaster Assistance
- Florida Department of Economic Opportunity - Reemployment Assistance
Info and links to CONNECT for Reemployment Assistance Claimants and Employers - Small Business Administration:
Disaster Assistance to Florida Small Businesses Economically Impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Food & Shelter/Rent Assistance/Financial Assistance
- CARE Program (City of Lakeland Residents)
Rent Assistance with verifiable loss of income due to COVID-19. - Polk CARES (Polk County Residents)
- Financial assistance for qualified Polk County residents and small business owners through Polk’s portion of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant.
- Polk County Unites (Polk County Residents)
Rent and Mortgage Assistance, Utility Assistance, Food Assistance, Childcare and Adult Care Assistance, Emergency Needs
Apply through the partner links below:
- kidsPACK
kidsPACK works with Polk County Public Schools to deliver healthy lunches to Polk County students. TO REGISTER: Parents must contact the school that their child or children attend and their teacher or principal will add the child/children to the kidsPACK program. Meals are distributed on Thursdays or Fridays, depending on your pickup location. - United Way of Central Florida: End Hunger Initiative
Ending hunger in Polk, Hardee & Highlands Counties: Visit this site for the food distribution schedule and to find a pantry near you. - Lighthouse Ministries
Shelter, Residential Services, Hope Centers, Thrift Stores - School Lunch Dropoff Locations
Free meals for kids and teens - VISTE: Volunteers in Service to the Elderly
Transportation, Hot Meals, Groceries, In-Home Care, Activities for the elderly; see: COVID-19 Updates - Feeding Tampa Bay (VISTE Partner)
Polk County is valuable to us and we will do all that we can to combat food insecurity that exists in your area. One of the ways we are combating food insecurity is through our weekly Mega Pantries. Every Monday we bring 3-4 semis full of meat, dry goods, and fresh produce to Lakes Church, located at 1010 East Memorial Blvd. We then do a drive-thru distribution event to ensure the food gets out to our hungry neighbors. Our guests pop their trunk as our volunteers place the meals in their vehicles. No getting out of the car, no paperwork, just some dignity and respect with a little hope placed in their trunk. Please watch this video to better understand the process. Learn more or sign up to volunteer at FeedingTampaBay.org.
Business Owners
- Polk CARES Small Business Relief Grant (Polk County Residents)
Financial assistance for qualified Polk County residents and small business owners through Polk’s portion of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act grant. - Coronavirus (COVID-19): Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources
ADA/Accessibility Resources
- Southeast ADA Center COVID-19
This website is regularly updated to provide the disability community with information about rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and how they apply to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The resources are based on information from known national, federal, and state sources. Accessibility cannot be guaranteed for external links. This website is a collaboration of the ten regional ADA Centers in the ADA National Network funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). - CDC Toolkit for People with Disabilities
Includes guidance and planning documents, web resources and FAQs
Emotional Support
- 24/7 Emotional Support Line - Peace River Center
Call 863.519.3744 or 800.627.6906
How to Make Masks/Face Covers
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