These are trying times. How do you make sense of it all, and where can you go for help? This post will list resources available to the general public and will be updated as new information becomes available. First off - be safe, wash your hands, practice physical distancing, and stay home if at all possible. Love your family, friends and neighbors, and do everything you can to keep them safe.

STEP Continues To Offer Services To Those in Need

The lobbies of all of STEP's offices in Rocky Mount, Stuart, and Martinsville are closed to the public, however most low-income, anti-poverty services offered by the agency will continue to be offered despite the current and anticipated local impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

With the exception of our Senior Cafés (congregate meals) in our Senior Services program, all of our programs will continue. The delivery may look a little different, but the services will still be provided. 

Head Start/Early Head Start, LIFES Academy, and Project Discovery will follow the local school systems in Franklin and Patrick counties, which have been closed for at least two weeks by order of the Governor of Virginia. While the students are out, lessons and activities will continue to be delivered to them either remotely via computer or on paper. The students will also continue to receive food during the school day.  

Meals on Wheels (home-delivered meals) will still be delivered to senior citizens who qualify in Franklin and Patrick counties. STEP works with the Southern Area Agency on Aging to provide this service. The meals are a combination of prepared hot or frozen meals and bagged groceries that are delivered to home-bound seniors throughout the week. 

STEP’s other services, homelessness services, re-entry, rental assistance, and weatherization will also continue to be offered. Clients are encouraged to reach out via phone and email if their needs can be addressed that way. 

In all cases, STEP employees will practice good hygiene through frequent hand-washing and social distancing, and encourage clients to do the same.

 

 

• Need to find help in your specific community? Call 211 or visit https://www.211virginia.org/
  
  

• For the most up to date information on the coronavirus and COVID-19, visit the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website: www.cdc.gov or the Virginia Department of Health: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/
  
  

• Virginia Poverty Law Center COVID-19 Civil Legal Response in Virginia has housing resources, public health and public benefits resources, predatory lending and elder law resources, family law resources, utilities, court closures and Social Security: https://vplc.org/learn/covid-19-civil-legal-response-in-virginia/
  
  

• Voices for Virginia’s Children COVID-19 Response Resources—child care, nutrition assistance and cash assistance benefits (SNAP, TANF and WIC), public health insurance benefits (Medicaid and FAMIS), behavioral health guidance and public school resources as well as the link to CommonHelp to apply for benefits. https://vakids.org/covid-19-response-resources
  
  

• For resources available through the Virginia Department of Social Services: https://commonhelp.virginia.gov/
  

• World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
  
  

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
  
  

• National Institutes of Health: https://www.nih.gov/health-information/coronavirus

• Virginia Department of Health: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/