
Recursos disponibles para la comunidad afectada por el COVID 19

Housing Trust Fund Ventura County (Housing Trust Fund VC) has been named as one of 29 grantees receiving funding support from Weingart Foundation through their Unrestricted Operating Support (U.O.S.) program. Housing Trust Fund VC will receive $50,000 over two years to help with capacity building in support of the Fund’s overall mission to increase affordable housing options throughout Ventura County by leveraging public-private partnerships to provide low-cost, flexible loans early in the housing development cycle.

Kaitlin Shipley always knew she wanted to work in the healthcare field. After working as a medical assistant for several years after high school, she enrolled in the nursing program at Santa Barbara City College, graduating in 2019 with an associate degree in nursing. Fast forward less than one year, Kaitlin finds herself donning protective gear to enter the isolation room at Lompoc Valley Medical Center as one of the local heroes in the battle against COVID-19.

The Ventura College Foundation is awarding scholarships to 248 students totaling $683,748, the largest annual scholarship distribution in the foundation’s history.
Students were notified this month of their scholarship awards ranging from $1,000 for continuing students to $4,000 for students who are transferring to four-year universities in the fall. Many students received multiple scholarships.

The SBA will resume accepting Paycheck Protection Program applications from participating lenders on Monday, April 27, 2020 at 7:30 AM.
If you are seeking additional capital through the Paycheck Protection Program, we highly encourage you to review our Federal Funding Preparation Guide in advance of any application you may submit.

The Emergency Child Care Initiative (ECCI) was established to provide members of the essential workforce with affordable child care options to allow them to continue working in roles that are critical to our local COVID-19 response. Since ECCI was launched in early April, child care programs have been established serving most major health care providers throughout the county, including Cottage Health, Sansum Clinic, Lompoc Valley Medical, and the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast. With those programs firmly established, the Initiative is now shifting attention to other members of the essential workforce. This includes employees in food service, grocery industry, farm workers and agricultural production, nursing homes, sanitation, and other essential workforce professions. Children ages 6 months to 12 years will be prioritized.

We’re feeling so inspired after our Earth Day virtual art class with Dr. Meg Handler from The Human Nature Center! Dr. Handler uses the arts as a way to teach ecology. That got us wondering how else we can explore science through art. Marbled milk art provides a fun lesson on chemistry and polarity while you create a colorful artwork on paper.

Good Afternoon, Here’s your daily update from the County of Ventura.
1 new case
209 current cases
497 total cases
271 recovered cases
29 currently at the hospital (7 are long term care facility patients that are not acute for hospital care but staying at the hospitals throughout the county to protect others)
7 ICU patients
17 deaths (9 males and 8 females ages 37-99, 11 passed in the hospital and 6 at home, all had comorbidities)
9,161 tested
Special thanks to our community members for following the soft closure guidelines at local beaches. Coastal law enforcement reported that beach visitors followed the rules and kept moving.
Stay informed at www.vcemergency.com.

“Seek treatment by calling your doctor” if you have a fever, dry cough, or breathing difficulties, says the State of California Department of Public Health. But how will you pay for the doctor’s examination, a coronavirus test, and, if you test positive, any subsequent costs for treatment for COVID-19? While much of the state’s population has been able to practice “social distancing” and stay home to avoid exposure to the coronavirus, Latino workers fill a large percentage of the essential jobs that make staying home possible for others. The nature of these jobs—from checkout clerk to nursing home attendant—exposes them to many potential coronavirus carriers and a consequent high risk of catching the coronavirus. Yet the Latinos working these essential jobs are twice as likely as non-Latinos to be uninsured:

As you may know, Court Appointed Special Advocates—CASA of San Luis Obispo County had to cancel a major fundraiser, Hope for the Future. CASA relies on this event for a significant amount of their budget. They have moved all their auction items to an online format. The funds raised during this auction are vital to help them continue serving the children under the jurisdiction of the child protection court in San Luis Obispo County.

14 new cases
465 total cases
245 recovered cases
26 in the hospital *5 of which are not in need of hospitalization but are long-term care facility patients being cared for at hospitals to protect the other long-term care facility members.
7 in the ICU
8, 256 people tested
16 deaths
Age range of deaths 37-99: 8 males and 8 females. All individuals had comorbidities.
Unfortunately, a 37-year-old male died as the result of a drug overdose with COVID-19 infection as a significant comorbidity and contributing condition. Questions can be directed to the Medical Examiner’s Office at MeoAdmin@ventura.org.

For my two older grandsons, living and playing online is nothing novel, even in the face of this “novel” coronavirus. Several years ago, I saw them playing high-stakes games (in their minds, at least) in cyberspace using their headphones, microphones and X-boxes. Sometimes they would play with their cousins on the other side of town, and sometimes with strangers—somewhere in the world. They are not living in the world in which I grew up, where tournaments of paramount importance for us at the time consisted primarily of physical board games such as checkers, chess, Parcheesi, Scrabble and Monopoly.
United Way of Santa Barbara County, The Santa Barbara Foundation and the Hutton Parker Foundation are leading a countywide funders’ collaborative, the COVID-19 Joint Response Effort for Santa Barbara County. The Effort will provide assistance to individuals and families as well as organizations actively assisting members of the community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over $2 million has been secured and fundraising continues to help those most in need.

Resistance. Quiet, persistent resistance.
Every once in a while, that resistance comes to everyone and everything.
As we note Earth Day this week, we are reminded of that resistance. In our stay-safe-at-home times, we are now seeing a world where the air is cleaner, the sound of nature is clearer and the Earth is actually healing itself a little at a time. There is a chilling, yet quiet beauty seeing the streets of Paris, London, Rome and New York virtually empty and nature going on quite well without us.
It’s as if Earth finally said, “ENOUGH.”

The County of Ventura has been taking steps to prepare for reopening. “We are positioned to focus on the road to reopening because our residents and businesses have sacrificed so much to comply with the Public Health Orders and slow the spread of the virus in our community,” said Mike Powers, Ventura County CEO. “Our current situation is further strengthened by the work of our local hospitals to expand their capacity.”

The Port of Hueneme kicked off the 50th Annual Earth Day with a digital celebration, reaffirming their commitment to environmental sustainability and sharing the results of its Green Marine Certification assessment.
“The Port is leading the way forward into a green economy,” said Oxnard Harbor District Board President Jess Ramirez. “Our commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and greener community is stronger than ever.”
Unveiling the results of their annual environmental assessment and accreditation conducted by Green Marine on Wednesday, the Port continued its track record of high scores and transparency.

In light of the COVID-19 Outbreak and to face the challenge head on, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) is launching Part I of a $3 million fundraising campaign, “Rising Stronger Together” to ensure that the community and families have the resources and support they need during these trying times.