Hello Whittier Community,
Its hard to believe that we will be entering the month May this week. Where did April go? It seems as though we are lost in days and are now counting months. Our kids have missed their Prom, Spring School Dances, sporting tournaments and even Grad night for graduating seniors. Our new normal of being virtually connected is great to some extent, but some are now finding ways to disconnect from this as well.
Not only have our bodies been affected by this coronavirus-19 but our mental state as well. Many are resorting to extensive isolation by disconnecting from friends and family completely. This type of isolation is hurting our seniors the most. When visiting our relatives was common on weekends we find ourselves filling the void with other activities. While doing some research for today's newsletter, I came across
https://www.engageca.org/ which is a site that reminds us to check in on our loved one's including our friends and neighbors. Now is the time to reach out via text, a phone call and even the old fashion hand written note. You don't know if someone is in need of groceries, medicine or other necessities that they can't pick up due to lack of transportation or because there are alone and afraid to ask.
This site also offers free virtual meetings to assist those taking care of elders.
- May 6th from 1-2pm topic is Caring for Yourself while you're Caring for Someone Else: Stress Relief, Respite.
- Panelist: TBD
- Dial 888-788-0099, enter the Meeting ID: Meeting ID: 983 3916 3539#, then password: 21
There is no charge for these meetings.
Our actions will help determine how quickly we can get back to business. Public data has shown that "safer at home" is working. LA County website shares the latest information at
covid19.lacounty.gov. It's important to be informed and take precautionary measures that our state and local officials have recommended. Although the date of May 15th is slated as a date to possibly reopen businesses, it is only a tentative date.
As of last Friday, there are
35 drive-up testing locations in LA County and are offering free same-day test for anyone showing covid-19 signs. Age is no longer a determining factor. You can schedule a covid-19 test at
https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/ which is providing free testing to Los Angeles County residents. This site you can also find a location near you.
Are you or someone you know having food challenges? The County of Los Angeles has several sources to assist families. If you are a senior and are in need of meals dial 211 for assistance.
- Map of Student Meals Distribution Sites
- Student Meal Distribution Sites throughout the County of Los Angeles. The map is searchable by school district and provides information specific to each location.
- 211 Food Inventory
- Website provide Zip Code based searches for a variety of food resources across the county including locations of: free groceries, food pantries, hot meals, senior meals and Meals on Wheels.
The City of Whittier is looking forward to your recommendations to highlight individuals who have gone above and beyond for someone or has demonstrated act of kindness in the community.
#WhittierKindness
is a new initiative to highlight these individuals.
Submit the name of the individual(s) or organization(s) along with a photo or video to
pubinfo@cityofwhittier.org
so that we can share individuals and their act of kindness on social medial.
Last week our member Christ Foster and WUA President Frank Medina hosted a virtual Q & A workshop via Zoom regarding the
Payroll Protection Program (PPP).
If you missed it, you can contact Chris Foster directly at (562) 233-0479 or chris@fosterre.com. We are planning an additional workshop. Date to be determined.
Our President, Frank Medina has been very active in the community. He's been taking videos with our restaurants to highlight their establishments and interview owners or the staff. Videos are posted on Instagram. Follow us at
@uptownwhittierofficial. To place your next take-out food order, visit the restaurant director at
https://whittieruptown.org/mem_category/restaurants/.
The response to our
Farmers' Market has been overwhelming and positive. This last Friday, we had over 300 shoppers for a second week in a row. We will remain open every Friday from 8am to 1pm to serve our community. Market will be open again this Friday, May 1st.
No matter what your circumstance is, we want you to know that the Whittier Uptown Association wants you to be informed of things taking place not just in Uptown Whittier but in our city. With an overload of information from many sources, we would like to provide you with a condensed version of updates, community activities and changes in one simple email.
The Whittier Uptown Association (the Association) goals is to share information not just to the businesses in our community but to residents and subscribers of our newsletter. Other great resources for the latest information and updates on COVID-19 are websites for the
City of Whittier
,
Los Angeles County and
California State agencies. The City of Whittier provides continual updates at
www.cityofwhittier.org.
In the meantime, if you have important information you would like for us to share to the community on social media (FB & IG) send it to me at
olivia@whittieruptown.org or text (310) 403-3688. You can also reach Frank Medina, President at (562) 328-6981 or franktps7@gmail.com
Stay safe and remain healthy. #WhittierStrong
Olivia E Rios
Operations Director
