Hello Oakland,

We are meeting for a virtual Town Hall tonight at 6 p.m. on my social media channels  Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and YouTube (with closed captioning).

As always, you can submit your questions in advance here .

This week we want to discuss mental health and strategies for well-being in these unprecedented times. We’ve invited an expert in the field, Dr. Alison Briscoe-Smith from the Wright Institute, to join us.

We will also hear updates on the city’s ongoing response and new resources from Alexandria McBride , City of Oakland’s Chief Resilience Officer.

For the latest news on worker’s benefits, we will be joined by Derek Schoonmaker , Worker’s Rights Directing Attorney, at Centro Legal de la Raza.

And for the latest information on housing and for renters, we’ll hear from Monique Berlanga , Tenants’ Rights Directing Attorney, from Centro Legal de la Raza.

Please submit questions to any of our guests in their field of expertise by clicking here .

We will answer all your questions live, so please tune in tonight at 6 p.m.   
We know a lot of people are at home with their kids and miss their favorite Oakland librarian.

Since you can’t get to the library, we want to bring it to you. You’ll find a lot of great online resources at www.oaklandlibrary.org , and here’s a few for your kids and family:

Live reading programs three times per week on the library's Facebook page or on its YouTube page .

  • Mondays 10:30 AM - Play & Learn [View Monday's (4/6) video]
  • Wednesdays 11 AM - Bilingual Storytime (Spanish)  
  • Saturdays 10:30 AM - Family Storytime  

For questions related to you OPL account, please email eanswers@oaklandlibrary.org or call 510-238-3134.

To learn more of what you can do with your Oakland library card from home, click here .
Our small business owners and entrepreneurs have a new resource from Facebook, which just announced $15 million in grants to Bay Area businesses and prioritizing those owned by women, people of color, and veterans. You don’t need a Facebook or Instagram account, and these are cash grants (not advertising credits).

Visit here for more info.

Lastly Oakland, while many of us are working from home and adjusting to the “new normal,” many others continue to need our support.

We continue to seek able and healthy volunteers to help us deliver food and medicine to our seniors and low-income families. We also need help sorting at food banks. The Red Cross is also asking for blood donations.

You can sign up here to let us know how you can help fellow Oaklanders.

Thank you – and hope to see you tonight.

Mayor Libby Schaaf