Teamwork Englewood's
COVID-19 Updates

It’s hard to believe that fewer than 30 days ago, much of the world was operating according to business as usual. Now, we’re all challenged to adapt and be flexible to circumstances that seem to change drastically by the minute. This is a good time to pause and remember: be kind to yourself, and be kind to others and to lean on a higher power and/or each other for guidance and peace. Our mission is to continue to provide quality services and help convene resources and partners during times of need. We are redoing some of our approaches and thinking about how Teamwork Englewood can show up for those in need for not just now but for the next few months.

We want to make sure you are doing well during this time, here is some information about COVID-19 from the City of Chicago's COVID information page.

Testing for COVID-19

There is no treatment or cure for COVID-19. For most people, the illness is generally mild and can be safely managed at home. Testing is only indicated for individuals who are at risk of serious illness, like people over 60 or with underlying medical conditions. It’s important that we follow these testing guidelines to protect healthcare workers and avoid spreading the virus in our communities. Everyone, regardless of whether they have symptoms, should practice social distancing and good hand hygiene.

How to determine if you need testing

Question 1: Are you having symptoms like fever, cough, or difficulty breathing?

If YES: Please answer Question #2.

If NO: Testing is not needed. If you have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, stay home and monitor symptoms for 14 days.

Question 2: Are your symptoms severe?

If YES: Call your doctor or 911.

If NO: Please answer Question #3.

Question 3: Are you over 60? And/or do you have an underlying medical condition like diabetes, cancer or heart disease?

If YES: Contact your doctor to determine if testing is needed.

IF NO: Testing is not needed. Stay home for 7 days from symptom onset and 72 hours after fever is gone and symptoms improve (whichever is longer) to avoid getting anyone else sick. If you have any additional questions please email the City of Chicago at coronavirus@chicago.gov or call 312-746-4835.

Stay healthy, stay safe.

Cecile DeMello, Executive Director

Teamwork Englewood Support

TWE continues to support the community with our programming for ex-offenders, women and families, and all Englewood residents. Please call 773-488-6600 and someone from our office will call you back, you can also complete our needs survey and someone will get back to you from our organization.

Click here

Did You Know?

Chicago Public Schools will be closed due to the Coronavirus but students can still eat for free. Beginning on Tuesday, 3/17, students are able to pick up boxed meals from 9:00am-1:00pm at the nearest Chicago Public School, this means students do not have to go to their home school, but instead the school closest to them. For the Greater Englewood community all schools will still have Safe Passage Community Watchers 9am to 1pm. This food pick up service will be available for students until March 30th or until further notice. Please visit https://cps.edu/oshw/Pages/HealthyCPS.aspx to learn more about what CPS is doing for students and families to provide services and keep everyone safe.

Unemployment Updates & Info

Workers temporarily laid off due to COVID-19 can get Unemployment Insurance in Illinois.

The state isn’t expecting anyone to go out looking for a new job during a stay-at-home order: as long as applicants are prepared to return to their job as soon as the employer reopens, they’ll be considered to be actively seeking work and will qualify.

Under emergency rules, these workers will not have to register with the employment service.

Workers who quit due to COVID-19 fears cannot get Unemployment Insurance. The agency says “an individual generally has a duty to make a reasonable effort to work with his or her employer to resolve whatever issues have caused the individual to consider quitting.”

Parents who leave work due to a child’s school closure can get Unemployment Insurance.

With all Illinois schools closed through at least April 7, and Chicago Public schools through April 20, parents who voluntarily leave work to care for their child can qualify for unemployment because they “could be considered as unemployed through no fault of their own.

You must still meet all of the other standard requirements, and unlike workers temporarily laid off due to COVID-19, parents who voluntarily leave work must be registered with the employment service.

Anyone who’s already exhausted Unemployment Insurance, the full 26 weeks’ worth of benefits within the last 12 months, will not be eligible for additional Unemployment Insurance.

Here’s how to apply for Unemployment Insurance:

You can call the Illinois Department of Economic Services at 800-244-5631 or 866-488-4016 (TTY), but even the governor admits the lines have been very busy so he recommends filing your claim via the IDES website. Do not go in person: As of March 19, IDES offices are closed to the public until further notice.

Housing Support

The City of Chicago has now opened an Application for Emergency Housing Assistance for individuals and families impacted by the economic fallout due to Coronavirus.

Application window: Friday, March 27th at 9:00am to Wednesday, April 1st and 11:59pm.

Selection process: All applicants will be entered into a lottery. Applicants can expect to hear back from the Department of Housing regarding their application in the days following the close of the application.

As for utilities, Peoples Gas announced it would push disconnecting service and waive late fees until May 1. The company has a moratorium on shut-offs in winter which typically lasts until March 31. ComEd also is suspending disconnections and will waive late fees until May 1, then working with customers on a case-by-case basis for payment plans.

Here are the following policies which will be in place for Xfinity the next 60 days:

• Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots, and then launch a browser.
• Pausing Data Plans: With so many people working and educating from home, Comcast says they want their customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. Comcast says while the vast majority of customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, they are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.

No Disconnects or Late Fees: Comcast will not disconnect a customer’s internet service or assess late fees if they contact them and let them know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Comcast says care teams will be available to offer flexible payment options and can help find other solutions.

Food Pantries in the Community

All families will be able to pick up meals at their nearest CPS school beginning Tuesday, March 17, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday through Friday during the school closures. Lunchroom staff will prep, bag, and provide meals outside of the school building. If you can not make it to your nearest school and need food, call this number for emergency delivery families may call 773-553-KIDS.

The Greater Food Depository has information about local food pantries. Please call first to confirm. These have been updated with some recent pantry closures since our last email update. You can always go the Greater Food Depository website for updates and additional services.https://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/.

SHEPHERD’S HOPE
838 West Marquette Road, Chicago, IL, USA
(773) 351-3336
CONTACT: Brian Anderson
Pantry HOURS: Tuesday and Thursday: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Soup Kitchen HOURS: Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 12 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Pantry and Soup Kitchen SERVICE AREA: Cook County
PANTRY|SOUP KITCHEN

HOLY WILLING WORKERS OF CHRIST
647 W 69th St, Chicago, IL 60621
(773) 994-0277
CONTACT: Betty Autry
HOURS: Friday: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
SERVICE AREA: N: 55th St - S: 79th St; E: Wentworth - W: Carpenter
PANTRY

The Salvation Army: ENGLEWOOD RED SHIELD CENTER
845 W 69th St, Chicago, IL 60621, USA
(773) 358-3200
CONTACT: Robert Davenport
HOURS: Wednesday 9:00 am - 1:00 pm; Thursday 9:00 am - 11:00 am
SERVICE AREA: Zip Codes: 60609; 60615; 60617; 60619; 60620; 60621; 60627; 60628; 60633; 60636; 60637; 60643; 60649; 60653; 60827
PANTRY

ENGLEWOOD SATELLITE CENTER
653-657 W 63rd St, Chicago, IL 60621, USA
(312) 745-3328
CONTACT: Denise King
HOURS: Bi-Monthly Thursdays: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
SERVICE AREA: Cook County

BETHEL IMANI LUTHERAN PANTRY
6201 S Sangamon St, Chicago, IL 60621
(773) 487-8136
CONTACT: Shirley Moore
HOURS: Monday: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm
SERVICE AREA: 55th - 79th and State - Western

BACK TO GOD CHURCH
7326 S Racine Ave, Chicago, IL 60636
(773) 224-7083
CONTACT: Brenda Crushshon
HOURS: Tuesday 9 am – 11 am
SERVICE AREA: Cook County

BEAUTIFUL ZION MBC
1406 W 64th St, Chicago, IL 60636
(773) 778-7271
CONTACT: Faye McClinton
HOURS: Every 1st Friday: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
SERVICE AREA: Cook County

KOINONIA MINISTRY
7541 South Halsted Street, Chicago, IL, USA
(773) 403-6748
CONTACT: Celestine Tillman
HOURS: Thursday 2 pm- 4 pm
SERVICE AREA: Zip Code: 60620, 60619, 60636

WE DO CARE
1538 W 69th St, Chicago, IL 60636
(773) 776-1875
CONTACT: Diane Whyte
HOURS: Thursday: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
SERVICE AREA: Cook County

MOUNT OLIVE BAPTIST CHURCH
6353 S Marshfield Ave, Chicago, IL 60636
(773) 737-1523
CONTACT: Erma Wilcher
HOURS: Saturday: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
SERVICE AREA: Zip Code: 60636

FCHN SOUP KITCHEN
1234 W 59th St, Chicago, IL 60636
(773) 436-8277
CONTACT: Betty Price
HOURS: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
SERVICE AREA: Cook County
SOUP KITCHEN

ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST
6600 S Hermitage Ave, Chicago, IL 60636
(708) 214-9075
CONTACT: Pamela McKenzie
HOURS: Saturday: 9:00 am - 11:00 am
SERVICE AREA: Zip Code: 60636

KINGDOM BUILDERS CHRISTIAN CENTER
1648 W 63rd St, Chicago, IL 60636
(773) 434-1688
CONTACT: Sam McCaskill
HOURS: Tuesday: 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
SERVICE AREA: ZIP Code: 60636

PICKENS MEMORIAL TEMPLE COGIC
5659 S Union Ave, Chicago, IL 60621
(773) 488-0300
CONTACT: Ronald Allen
HOURS: Friday: 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
SERVICE AREA: 47th St - N: 95th St; Stoney Island Ave - Ashland Ave