County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas said today that his office provided $575,000 to purchase partitions, air-flow devices and other protective equipment to prevent COVID-19 from spreading at homeless shelters and interim housing facilities. The county’s Department of Health Services’ Housing for Health Division will use the supervisor’s grant to help shelters and interim housing facilities make immediate modifications to sites within Ridley-Thomas’ Supervisor District 2 to protect the health and safety of both residents and staff.
“People who have been living outdoors, exposed to the elements and without access to basic necessities for possibly years on end are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19,” Ridley-Thomas said. “Turning shelters into an extra-safe haven during the pandemic will protect not only our homeless neighbors but also the heroic street outreach teams and others who work with them, as well as the general public.”
The Housing for Health Division has led the testing surveillance strategy for people experiencing homelessness in both sheltered and unsheltered environments.
Millions of unemployedpeople in California will soon get a $300 per week boost to their benefits as part of the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program. That program is part of an executive order signed by President Trump earlier this month.
California’s Employment Development Department (EDD) the state’s approval for the money last week, and since then we have received hundreds of questions. Here are some answers.
When will people receive the money?
EDD said it will start processing payments beginning the week of September 7.
EDD says the LWA money will roll out in phases. According to EDD, the first phase covers people who “previously provided information that they were unemployed due to a COVID-19 related reason on their initial application and have already received their regular state or federal unemployment payments for benefit weeks between July 26 and August 15.”
EDD says the second phase will cover people “did not have the opportunity to indicate they were unemployed due to a COVID-19 reason on their initial application and still meet the minimum $100 weekly benefit amount eligibility requirement.”
EDD says it will send notifications to people in the second phase, asking them to complete a one-time self-certification if they are unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. Notifications will be sent by email, text message or mail starting in mid-September.
Program Application Period Open August 17th – August 31st
The LA County COVID-19 Rent Relief application began accepting applications at 8:00AM on August 17th. Tenants (renters whose name is listed on the lease or rental agreement) may apply by either calling 2-1-1, or by filling out the online application form that will be available on this page.
Application assistance through 211 LA is available daily from 8:00AM – 8:00PM, August 17th – 31st. (dial 2-1-1)
Who is Eligible? People who meet ALL of the following requirements:
Renters (residential properties only) within Los Angeles County Map of LA County
Can not live within the City of Los Angeles boundaries* (not sure? If your utilities are from DWP (Los Angeles Department of Water and Power), you are probably in the City of Los Angeles! You can also look at this City of LA Map. (Note, the City of LA had their own rental assistance program, which has closed.)
Must have experienced an inability to pay rent due to COVID-19
Must be below 50% of median income based on your household size (see income limits below)
You may qualify if the income of all adults (18+) in the household is at or less than the amounts below:
1 Person Household – $39,450
2 Person Household – $45,050
3 Person Household – $50,700
4 Person Household – $56,300
5 Person Household – $60,850
6 Person Household – $65,350
7 Person Household – $69,850
8 Person Household – $74,350
*Units located in the City of Los Angeles are not eligible for this program – LA City residents can contact 3-1-1 or view the LA City COVID-19 Rent Protections.
With COVID-19 infections topping more than 2.2 million in the United States, Black and Brown communities continue to be among the hardest-hit populations in the country. The coronavirus pandemic has brought to the forefront the vital need for ongoing temperature monitoring as a first line of defense, in fact, in some states, certain employers are required to conduct routine onsite temperature checks as a permissible screening mechanism.
“We are thrilled to be working with such a respected team of engineers and software developers to expand our company’s capability and assist in reducing the risk of the spread of the virus,” says Lynda. Their Maryland-based company will sell these temperature screening stations under their own brand called Orange ThermoControl™ and Orange ThermoControl Plus™ powered by Promobot.
“These stations are game-changers and have the ability to impact a lot of people by bringing this safety solution to the masses,” says Carolyn.
Their devices are free-standing and offer a non-contact thermal temperature reader, camera, 21.5″ display, face recognition module, access control system module, advance notification system, built-in speakers for audio assistance, and customizable software integration. The stations provide a fast, convenient, contact-free process for measuring body temperature and allows communication between user and remote operator with privacy in mind. Telepresence mode is an advanced notification system able to integrate with a company’s CRM access control systems and satisfies ADA standards for accessible design.
Even more, Orange ThermoControl™ and Orange ThermoControl Plus™ powered by Promobot are programmed and assembled in the USA. Installation consists of three quick steps and does not require any prolonged commissioning.
“We see our products as a necessary enhancement to safety protocols to assist with the health and well-being of people everywhere. There is no need to take a chance and risk your staff and employees’ exposure to COVID-19 when we have the solution,” they add.
The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) supports the wellbeing of our County family, friends and colleagues. News and updates about COVID-19 may trigger anxiety, panic, frustration and depression—even when your risk of getting sick is low. During an infectious disease outbreak, please take the time to care for your own physical and mental health, and please reach out to others in kindness and compassion.
LACDMH has published the following materials to address mental health & wellbeing needs and concerns:
Spread of the virus has been fairly egalitarian among races. But the death toll is hitting L.A. County’s black residents the hardest.Graphic by CalMatters.
When he worked at a hospital in downtown Los Angeles, Dr. Gregory Taylor saw cases that reflected the community where he grew up: a host of underlying health conditions killing black patients.
Taylor, an internist, called those conditions —diabetes, high blood pressure, respiratory diseases —“a part of the community fabric” among black residents of South Los Angeles.
“It’s true across our ethnicity as a whole,” said Taylor, who grew up in Leimert Park and now works at Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California. “What you see over and over is black folks in a poorer state of health.”
Now those underlying conditions are contributing to African Americans’ vulnerability to COVID-19, which is killing them at the highest rate among all races in Los Angeles County.
Of the 1,418 people who died in Los Angeles County –by far the largest number in California –12.5 percent are black residents, even though they make up 8 percent of the population, according to the Department of Public Health’s dashboard.
A disparate death rate
The spread of the virus in Los Angeles County has been relatively egalitarian: No matter how rich, or white, or educated the neighborhood, nearly every area has confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Some of the highest infection rates are in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Melrose, wealthy ZIP codes where more than 75 percent of the population is white.
But the impacts once the coronavirus reaches a neighborhood are a different story.
For instance, in Inglewood, which has one of the largest black populations in Los Angeles County, the death rate from the virus is 34 per 100,000 residents, while in majority-white Glendale, just 14 miles away, it’s 18 deaths per 100,000,according to the county’s dashboard data.
Part of the explanation could be the high rates of underlying health conditions among the area’s black residents. Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma all lead to more severe outcomes for people with COVID-19.
Residents of the county’s South region, which includes Inglewood, have nearly twice the rate of diabetes as residents of the San Fernando Valley area, which includes Glendale. When asked by UCLA researchers to rate their own health, 25 percent of residents in Inglewood answered fair or poor, the lowest scores in the county, compared with 15% in Glendale.
Going back to their roots! As the nation continues to uphold the government’s social-distancing guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic, stars are missing their hair appointments to keep up with their color or subtle root maintenance. But for some, it’s proving not to be an issue.
Across the country, businesses such as hair salons and other beauty-related services have had to close their doors for the foreseeable future as the coronavirus continues to spread at a jarring rate. And since everyone’s self-quarantining, that means home visits from their glam squad are basically out of the question for stars, too.
Some of the first celebs to get personal about their hair color on social media were Kelly Ripa and Kevin Hart. On Saturday, March 21, Hart shared a 4-minute IGTV video as part of a series he’s named “Confessions With Kev.” In the accompanying caption, the comedian wrote, “P.S I have always had a shit load of grey hair…I was just a frequent dyer …I’m not working right now so I said F–K IT .”
Other stars are getting open and honest about their grays, too including Tamera Mowry who have shared their struggles on social media — along with empowering messages of self-love.
Mowry is a great example of celebs staying positive during such a confusing and scary time. The Disney Channel alum shared a fresh-faced selfie with her hair away from her face in a braid. She captioned the stunning photo, “Hello grays. No getting my hair done during #socialdistancing, and I’m okay with it!”
Going to the salon is an event for many black women. The salon is a place of community, therapy, and ritual for a hair strand that is often overlooked and mistreated. On a recent episode of Blackish, youngest daughter Diane has her first experience in the salon where she also receives her first relaxer and is immediately brought into the day-long epic that is common at a black beauty salon. Black Girl Church, a documentary about black women and their relationships to beauty supply stores and the salon experience, treats the experience as a near-religious ceremony and a sanctuary for one of the most marginalized communities. And in late 2016, #BlackSalonProblems began trending on Twitter as women shared their horror stories, which mostly followed the same plot. (Who knew everyone would want a straight look like Beyoncé’s but always ended up looking more like James Brown?)
But when COVID-19 shut down all non-essential businesses—salons and black beauty stores among them—many black women were forced to take matters into their own hands. “Eighteen hours to braid my hair?” Makeup artist and producer Diamond Hawkins said in an email to ELLE.com. “Not a big fan of that!”
To echoe Hawkin’s sentiment: I am also not a big fan of that. I’ve never had to do my own hair before, but the pandemic has forced me to tirelessly learn how to install twists without the help of a stylist, who has the touch that I just don’t possess. For some of the women we spoke to, dealing with their hair amid the crisis has proven to be yet stressor, while others have found joy in spending timewith hair masks and curl treatments rather than heat and chemicals.
Below, nine black women share how they are dealing with their hair during a global pandemic—plus offer resources and advice, if you’re struggling at home, too.
Although there is still so much medical professionals don’t know about COVID-19, preliminary data throughout the country point to racial disparities in the pandemic.
Recent Southern California numbers show African Americans account for 15 percent of the novel coronavirus-related illnesses and deaths, despite the fact that they only make up 9 percent of Los Angeles County’s population. Dr. Chandra Ford, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health and Sciences at UCLA and Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Racism, Social Justice and Health, tells Inside the Issues that, initially, data didn’t seem to suggest high rates of illness in African American communities.
“In Los Angeles when we first started getting data, the data suggested that the highest rates of COVID-19 infection were actually occurring in the wealthier communities and that seemed premature to me and my colleagues,” she said. “In part because testing was not widely available to everyone and that seemed to reflect people who had access to testing and people who had traveled abroad.”
Dr. Ford said the messaging in black communities has gone from seeing it as a virus that affects groups differently to stigmatizing why certain groups are contracting the coronavirus. She said lower-income communities aren’t able to easily access hospitals or high-quality health care.
