HSC works closely with our government partners to connect human services organizations with information and access related to disaster preparedness. We will work hard during this period to provide you with up-to-date resources for human service providers from reliable sources.
Please make sure you reach out to the agencies with which you are contracted for the most up-to-date information and guidance! Please check the NYC DOHMH’s website and the New York State Health Department’s website for updated information as well. If you are on Twitter, you can follow @nycMayorsOffice and @nycHealthy for the latest updates. FEMA’s disaster assistance page can be found here.
Finally, it is important that we separate facts from fear, and guard against stigma and racism. There are a lot of social media posts and news reports that are not rooted in science and are offensive, demeaning, and racist. If you or someone you know is a victim of or witness to an act of racism or bias, please call 311 and ask for Human Rights to report this act of hate.
HSC engages in policy advocacy to ensure the human services sector is heard in government spaces. During the COVID-19 outbreak we will continue to push for our members to be included in conversations around community health and resilience. Providers are on the frontlines of this response and need to have their concerns and expertise heard and their contracts paid.
**Opportunities to Engage:**
Keep an eye out for upcoming opportunities to engage in policy work with HSC.
**Here are some of the advocacy initiatives we are already engaged in and/or monitoring related to COVID-19 + Resources to Better Understand Legislation:**
• Tell Trump: Stop blocking relief funding for the USPS!
• Preliminary Analysis Comparing the Nonprofit Provisions in the House HEROES Act and Senate HEALS Act – from the National Council of Nonprofits.
• Review HSC’s open letter Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo condemning the City’s response to peaceful protestors. Read the full list of demands here – and feel free to use our language for your own letter!
• Too Big To Fail – A new briefing from SeaChange Capital Partners that explains how the exclusion of organizations with more than 500 staff from federal economic relief programs could be disastrous for our City in a matter of weeks.
• Congress and COVID-19: What Passed and What Comes Next – PowerPoint Slides from the Coalition on Human Needs reviewing the CARES Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
• Families First COVID Response Act: What Nonprofit Employers Need to Know – an article to help guide nonprofit employers understand the FFCRA.
• Coalition Letter to the NYC Administration Regarding Essential Needs of the Human Services Sector in Response to COVID-19 – includes major asks to protect the human services sector and communities we serve.
• HSC’s Memo on New York State’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Community-Based Organizations – includes our three major asks related to paid sick leave for the state.
• FPWA’s response and concerns related to the Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act legislation, which passed over the weekend – includes flags to consider, fiscal policy analysis, and ways to take action. Visit the link to find an easy way to reach legislators and sample language to include in your ask.
• Why Nonprofits Must Be Included in a COVID Relief & Economic Stimulus Package – a sign on letter to Congress.
• HSC’s Emergency Plan Survey – HSC is working to revise our Emergency Plan Template and other disaster preparedness resources for nonprofit human services providers.
To make sure our updated resources are as relevant to our supporters as possible, we are asking organizations to fill out a short survey, which should only take about 10 minutes to complete.
This survey will allow you to share challenges you are facing related to emergency/continuity planning at your organization, and provide feedback on your past experience with HSC’s Disaster Resilience program training and tools.
Your answers are invaluable to the future of HSC’s disaster preparedness offerings to you and your communities!
• UST’s nonprofit survey to help unveil how nonprofit organizations have evolved throughout the pandemic and identify trends in long-term strategic priorities. Complete by April 30, 2021!
• NYCEM’s Public/Private Initiatives Team is working to develop actionable and relevant information through COVID. They are surveying all business partners regarding work from home practices and challenges.
Fill out the survey by clicking here.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to New York City’s resilience. We are grateful for your partnership. For the most up to date information, visit nyc.gov/coronavirus and if you have any questions please email [email protected]. You can also text COVID to 692-692 for real-time updates.
• CovidWatcher is a research tool built by the Columbia University Medical School with the support of SIPA. It will only be effective if we can get people from everywhere in New York City to participate. By mobilizing “Citizen Scientists” to fill out these anonymous surveys via website or mobile app, we can help our researchers create important tools, such as maps of COVID-19 hot spots.
• People 65 and older and those with disabilities who have no other way of getting to vaccination sites can schedule free, accessible rides by calling 877-VAX-4NYC (877-829-4692)
• NYC Vaccine Hotline: 877-VAX-4NYC
• New York State Vaccine Hotline: 1-833-NYS-4VAX
• One-stop source for all things Test & Trace (testing and test results, speak to a clinician, info on travel restrictions, COVID-19 reporting, hotel isolation program, help safely separating or quarantining, questions about leave, and test and trace corps)…
Spanish and English
9:00am-9:00pm everyday
212-COVID19 (2684319)
• New Yorkers who have symptoms or questions about COVID-19 can call 1-844-NYC-4NYC to connect to a medical provider free of charge seven days a week from 9 am – 9 pm.
• DOHMH’s NYC Healthcare Provider Access Line: Call 866-692-3641 if you are a healthcare provider with medical questions.
• New York State’s Dept. of Health’s toll-free COVID-19 hotline: 1-888-364-3065
• Disaster Distress Helpline (DDH): Call 1-800-985-5990 and text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 for crisis counseling and support for anyone in the U.S. experiencing distress or other behavioral health concerns related to any natural or human-caused disaster, including public health emergencies.
• 24/7 emotional support service for frontline health care workers: text NYFRONTLINE to 741-741 to access these emotional support services.
• NYS’s Free Mental Health Hotline for Individuals Needing Support: 1-844-863-9314
• Reporting Racism Related to COVID-19: If you or someone you know is a victim of or witness to an act of racism or bias, please call 311 and ask for Human Rights to report this act of hate.
• Contact Your County’s Health Department: Visit this link to find your county’s contact information.
• If you encounter instances of fraud related to COVID-19, please report them by calling 311 and to the BBB by clicking HERE.
• The NYC Pet Hotline serves as an information, planning, referral and service coordination hub for NYC residents who need support for their pets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pet Hotline operators can be reached directly at 877-204-8821 from 8am to 8pm daily.
• NYC Worker Protection Hotline: Call 311 or 1-212-436-0381 with questions about reopening, health and safety guidelines for the workplace, or to report an employer that is not following reopening requirements.
CBOs and houses of worship can request PPE from New York VOAD by clicking here (while supplies last!).
We have been notified that organizations can order cleaning supplies and medical supplies in bulk from the NYS Preferred Source Program’s website. Soaps and sanitizers can be found here. General cleaning supplies can be found here.
The City of New York and its partners are committed to providing resources to those affected by COVID-19 crisis. donateNYC, a program of NYC Department of Sanitation, has resources for individuals, businesses, schools, and agencies to give and receive donated items.
We also want to share with you this resource on PPE that has been created in the past few weeks for NYC. The Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Council (MaiiC) with support from the Tech Talent Pipeline (TTP) and local industry partners has launched the NYC PPE + Reopening Supplies Marketplace to find protective supplies, disinfecting materials, etc.
HSC is hosting regular calls with human serviced providers in New York. Based on those calls we are compiling a list of questions and answers, which we will be updating frequently. If you have questions that are not answered in the current document, please email them to [email protected] and we will do our best to get an answer for you in an updated version.
We are hosting calls for human services providers every Wednesday at 8 am. Email [email protected] for the call in information.
PLEASE NOTE: Beginning in March 2021, these morning calls will be held on the first Monday of every month at 8 am (rather than every Wednesday).
CLICK HERE to view the current FAQs.
Last updated: 7/28/20 at 11:00 AM.
• Emergency Plan Template for Nonprofits – HSC has designed an Emergency Plan template to help organizations prepare for both disasters and other emergencies. It includes guidance for preparedness, emergency action, continuity of operations, and sustaining the plan.
• HSAlert – HSAlert is HSC’s Emergency Communications system, designed especially for decision makers at nonprofit organizations. In the event of a disaster with significant community impact, it will share information that will help organizations make the best possible decisions, including contracting issues, service delivery options, volunteer management, and more.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Train the Trainer Sessions, Tuesdays at 11am and Thursdays at 3:30pm – The NYC Health Department invites you to participate in a COVID-19 Vaccine Train-theTrainer session for partners supporting community members to get vaccinated. The Department welcomes community- and faith-based organizations and other partners providing health education and navigation to communities most impacted by COVID-19. The Department will host weekly hour-long sessions with a presentation and question and answer period.
• The InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies Trainings, ONGOING – The InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc. (IAC), with over 150 members, is the largest provider association in New York for non-profit agencies that support individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities. They offer a wide variety of trainings to providers on an ongoing basis.
• FEMA’s Upcoming Webinar Descriptions, ONGOING – Covers a wide variety of Disaster Preparedness topics. For FEMA Region 2.
• Vaccine Confidence PowerPoint Presentation – from the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene
• NYCEM’s 2021 Symposium: the Rise of Community During Emergencies – held on January 28, 2021.
• Virtual Panel on Prioritizing Equity: Vaccines & Trustworthiness – from the American Medical Association on December 10, 2020.
• Cybersecurity & Emergency Preparedness Webinar from New York City Emergency Management.
• Psychological First Aid, hosted by NYCVOAD and taught by Alec Cecil, Ed.D, of the American Red Cross – please view a recording of the training and participant manual.
• Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping: How Does Executive Order 13950 Affect You? – The slides from Venable LLP go over how Executive Order 13950 affects nonprofits and grant-seeking.
• Measuring Success In Uncertain Times – This webinar from CRE Marketing & Communications introduces an approach for reviewing and refining outcomes measurements to reflect the current reality of communities navigating the crisis.
• Extreme Heat Preparedness Webinar – from NYCEM. Use the password Heat2020 to access the recording.
• COVID-19 Impact on Housing Affordability in New York – from the New York Housing Conference’s Summer Series.
• New York State Medicaid Guidance – regarding telehealth, including telephonic, services during the COVID-19 emergency.
• COVID-19 and its Impact on Non-Profits – an overview of the CARES Act including the application and forgiveness process, and highlights of City, State and Federal funding issues including insights into the City & State budget processes, procurement issues, and application of the Not-For-Profit Revitalization Act.
• NYCEM’s Cost Recovery Webinar for PNPs – a discussion of best practices and key considerations for COVID-19 cost recovery.
• Human Service Messaging During the COVID-19 Crisis – a series of guidance from the National Reframing Initiative for relying on research-based communications strategies to make a strong case for supporting human service policies and programs as the nation addresses the impact of COVID-19 on our communities and our sector.
• Federal Coronavirus Relief Bills: What Do They Mean for Nonprofits? – The networks of the National Council of Nonprofits hosted a national presentation to help all in the charitable community understand the various provisions of the two new federal stimulus laws and what they mean for nonprofits. The video of the webinar HERE.
• Returning to Work In The COVID-19 Environment – As some states begin to lift “shelter in place” orders or re-evaluate which industries are considered “essential,” it is critical to have a plan in place to restart businesses and bring facilities back online. In the latest Executive Series | What You Need to Know webcast, USI Chairman and CEO, Mike Sicard has an important update for clients and other business leaders as they form a tactical reopening strategy.
• Employer Requirements Under the FFRCA and CARES Act – Alliant Insurance Services’s webinar going over what employers need to know about complying with new federal legislation related to COVID-19.
• New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Restart NYC Presentation – information for social services providers on reopening NYC.
We know that COVID-19 is putting nonprofit leaders in a challenging position. That’s why we are keeping a list of resources that can help you get the support and information you need, as well as a space to share best practices for the unique problems this virus is presenting.
• SeaChange Capital Partners’s resource, Tough Times Call for Tough Action: A Decision Framework for Nonprofit Leaders and Boards
• Important information from BDO about tax-free qualified disaster payments to employees in connection with COVID-19.
• How To Facilitate Effective Virtual Meetings
• Coronavirus Advice for Nonprofit Leaders
• 10 Tips for a Better Crisis Communications Strategy
• Nonprofit Resources for Remote Work During the COVID-19 Outbreak
• Understanding the Videoconferencing Tools Available to Your Nonprofit
Essential Workforce Guidance:
• Guidance for Determining Who is Considered Essential Workforce in NYS
• Regional Enrichment Center webpage
• Regional Enrichment Center overview
• Regional Enrichment Center FAQs for Families (March 20th)
