Confused about getting assistance during the crisis? This is how you can find help
Facing the difficult economic situation sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, and the need to maintain social distancing to avoid contagion and protect families, many people are having problems figuring out how to access the different types of assistance available.
They don’t know whether they meet the requirements for receiving the assistance, or when it might arrive.
And the bureaucratic process of filing out the applications and answering questions is even more difficult for those who don’t speak English.
Right now, 10 million people in the United States are looking for jobs. About 227,000 Floridians applied for unemployment assistance just last week.
The $2 billion federal stimulus package offers a lot of assistance, local and federal loans are available to small businesses, and local governments and private donors are also ready to help.
The resources are available, but it’s clear that as they increase there will be more and more confusion among those who need them, often desperate to pay rents or other basic necessities.
One-stop shop for help
Now there’s a new Web page, Axis South Florida (AxisHelps.org) that has brought together a list of the different types of resources people can access, depending on their need.
This useful tool, available in English, Spanish and Creole, emerged from a collaboration between the local offices of Microsoft and the Citi financial institution. They started by collecting information on the most important needs among residents of Miami-Dade and Broward, listening to organization that work closely with those already feeling the impact of the crisis sparked by the pandemic.
“We understood that a person who had never needed to ask for help doesn’t know where to begin,” said Inés Hernández, market manager for Citi Community Development in South Florida.
Another concern is that fraudsters and other crooks usually take advantage of crisis like the pandemic, she told the Nuevo Herald. That’s why one of the goals of the Web page creators was to gather truthful and trustworthy information and list respected organizations offering assistance.
“If you’re an individual, a small business or a nonprofit that’s been negatively impacted by the COVID19 pandemic — there is relief for you,” the Web page’s introduction notes.
After the introduction, Axis South Florida asks questions to determine available assistance. Is it someone who has lost income, who cannot pay rent, who cannot pay the bills or who needs food?
It also has a section for business owners, which asks whether they need money to continue in business, to pay employees, to remain open or help employees in other ways.
Online tutorials
When visitors click on the questions, they are transferred to pages that list the organizations offering the type of assistance they may need, as well as video tutorials on how to fill the applications.
Lucas Hernández, program director at Microsoft Philanthropies in Miami, stressed that the goal was to design a simple and easily understood Web page, in the most important languages spoken in South Florida.
Axis South Florida can take visitors, for example, directly to the page of Feeding South Florida, which offers food assistance, and provides basic information like the organization’s telephone and email: 954 518-1818 and contact@feedingsouthflorida.org.
It also includes links to United Way and Catholic Charities, and explains the services those organizations provide.
Axis South Florida’s creators say that one of its fundamental aspects is that it represents a collaboration between two global organizations that have staffers in South Florida and fully understand the local conditions.
They added that the page will continue to expand as more resources and financial opportunities become available.
Axis South Florida also linked up with gener8tor, an educational and mentoring company, to offer virtual programs and video conferences for small businesses impacted by the Covid19 outbreak. Interested businesses must register to access the online offerings.
To access the Axis South Florida Web page, go to AxisHelps.org.
