Dear Friends & Supporters,
Thank you for all you are doing to make sure that the children and teens for whom you advocate are healthy, safe and have their basic needs met. We hope that you are also staying healthy and have the resources you need to practice self-care during this uncertainty.
During this unprecedented time, we want to be a resource to you and the families you serve--feel free to share our updates with caregivers or suggest they follow us on social media.
We are working hard to ensure there are no disruptions to our children's needs and we are leading a task force with partner organizations to ensure we are all prepared to respond to needs as they emerge.
JOIN US FOR REGULAR FIRESIDE CHATS
Yes, we know it's too hot right now in Florida for a fire, but since we are all busy putting them out...let's take some time to share resources and support! We have suspended all in person meetings for at least the next 30 days but we will begin hosting regular conference calls that will be open to GALS/VCAs, CAMS, Caregivers, etc. There will be no formal agenda and the purpose is to provide support, share valuable information and available resources. We will post these dates on social media; please feel free to share with your Caregivers.
Our first Fireside Chat will be on Tuesday, March 24 from 11:00 am - 12:00 pm.
You can join the meeting via your phone at (712) 770-5505 and when prompted use the Access Code - 613389#. If you would prefer to join online, you can do that here:
https://join.freeconferencecall.com/amyf0
.
CIRCUIT WIDE UPDATES AND RESOURCES
Hearing Suspensions:
Communication from Judicial Court Circuit 6 is rapidly changing as the Court seeks to respond to COVID-19.
Some Judicial Reviews are still being heard. Please contact your GAL Program staff for additional information about your case if you have an upcoming JR
. To keep up with the latest information, check y
our email, the
GAL Program Facebook page
or our social media for updates.
School Closures:
Gov. DeSantis has announced that all public schools will be closed statewide through April 15th and all r
emaining testing for school readiness, voluntary Pre-K, and K-12 will be suspended through the end of the year.
Wifi:
Through a partnership with Spectrum, Pasco and Pinellas County Schools are able to provide free Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadbrand subscription at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households. Wi-Fi hotspots across Spectrum's footprint will also be available for public use.
COVID-19 Loss of Job Related Assistance:
Other Resources:
We will continue to share resources with you via email and social media. For now,
here is some great information
from Child Trends on providing emotional support to children that we find especially helpful.
Children's Needs Requests:
Children's need requests are still being accepted!
If you missed our update last week, you can see it
here
.
Please use the
basic needs form
for all requests and remember we are not approving tutoring or normalcy classes/events/summer camp while we are under a social distancing mandate.
PASCO RESOURCES
Nutritional Needs:
Here is a list of distribution sites for the week of March 23 -27 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm.
Crews Lake Middle School
– 15144 Shady Hills Road,
Spring Hill
Fivay High School
– 12115 Chicago Avenue,
Hudson
Gulf Middle School
– 6419 Louisiana Avenue,
New Port Richey
New River Elementary School
– 4710 River Glen Boulevard,
Wesley Chapel
Pasco High School
– 36850 State Road 52,
Dade City
Sunray Elementary School
– 4815 Sunray Drive,
Holiday
Zephyrhills High School
– 6335 12th Street,
Zephyrhills
Additional information with regard to longer-term food distribution will be forthcoming by the Pasco County School Board. For the latest Information, check out the
Pasco County Schools Facebook Page
.
E-Learning:
The Pasco County School District will be holding device distribution on Monday, March 30th at each school. Priority will be given to children who have no device in the home and families who have multiple children with too few devices. The County will provide one device per 2 students. E-learning can be done on a tablet or a computer. School will begin on Tuesday, March 31st. Please see this website for the most up to date information:
Pasco County School Board Website
.
PINELLAS RESOURCES
Nutritional Needs:
Here is a list of distribution sites for the week of March 23 -27:
Dunedin Elementary
900 Union St,
Dunedin
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Eisenhower Elementary
2800 Drew St,
Clearwater
11:00 am - Noon
Fairmount Park Elementary
575 41st St. S,
St. Petersburg
10:15 am - 11:15 am
Marjorie K. Rawlings Elementary
6505 68th St. N,
Pinellas Park
11:00 am - Noon
John Hopkins Middle
701 16th St S,
St. Petersburg
10:30 am - 11:30 am
New Heights Elementary
3901 37th St. N,
St. Petersburg
10:45 am - 11:45 am
Ponce De Leon Elementary
1301 Ponce de Leon Blvd,
Clearwater
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Southern Oak Elementary
9101 Walsingham Rd,
Largo
11:15 am - 12:15 pm
Tarpon Springs Elementary
555 Pine Street
Tarpon Springs
10:30-11:30am
Additional information with regard to longer-term food distribution will be forthcoming by the Pinellas County School Board. For the latest Information, check out the
Pinellas County Schools Facebook Page.
E-Learning:
Should your student need access to a digital device (laptop, computer, etc.) to engage with school work, district device distribution will take place on Tuesday, March 24 and Wednesday March 25. School specific distribution times will be sent to families from their principal on the afternoon of Monday, March 23 via School Messenger. All resources for students and families, including frequently asked questions and how-to tutorials are available on our dedicated webpage for
Digital Learning for Students and Families
.
Please see the
Pinellas County School Board Website for up to date information
.
