ACT Update: Food Security, Education Access, Unemployment, & Future Meetings
FOOD SECURITY TOWN HALL
Today, Tuesday, May 5, 6-7pm
featuring ACT leaders, including Monica Alvarado (Bread & Butter Kitchen) of Feed Anne Arundel, and our friends Bishop Antonio Palmer of Kingdom Celebration Center and Pam Brown of the Partnership for Children, Youth, and Families
Via Facebook, hosted by County Executive Steuart Pittman
ACT COUNTY-WIDE STEERING TEAM MEETING
Building power during a pandemic
Thursday, May 14, 7-8:30pm
Via Zoom; Meeting ID 840 1563 5547, password ACT
This meeting is for all ACT member organization core teams and interested/friend organizations. Agenda will be sent out ahead of time
Save the Date: FEED ANNE ARUNDEL - ONE ANNAPOLIS BENEFIT CONCERT
Saturday, May 16, Times TBD
Feed Anne Arundel is coordinating with the City of Annapolis a Virtual Benefit Concert for Feed Anne Arundel and various organizations doing work on domestic violence, substance abuse, and homelessness. Save the date for a concert filled with live music from across the community!
FEED ANNE ARUNDEL UPDATE
As of May 4, we have served 15,270 meals to locations throughout the county. We have 35 restaurants participating, with several more on the list to join us. The 15,270 meals translates to $129,369 back into the hands of local restaurants, their employees, farmers, drivers, food distributors, utilities, landlords, etc. All here in Anne Arundel County.
REPORT BACK ON EDUCATION ACCESS AND FOOD SECURITY LISTENING SESSIONS
Over the weekend of April 25-26,over 40 ACT leaders worked together to launch an innovative way to conduct a county-wide "door knocking" campaign to listen to some of our community's hardest-hit families. From locations at Kingdom Celebration Center in Odenton and Tyler Heights Elementary in Annapolis, we reached 397 households and made 100 follow-up calls. We're still making calls. We learned first-hand about issues families are facing on:
Unemployment.
Food Security, including access to school lunches.
Education access, including Chromebooks and internet access.
We brought our findings and recommendations to Superintendent George Arlotto and Dr. Maisha Gillins, Exec. Director of Equity and Accelerated Student Achievement. They accepted ACT's recommendations that the school system seek out those with whom it has not yet connected at food banks, including handing out Chromebooks at those sites. We know this is going on for a long time: ACT will continue to meet with the superintendent in the coming weeks as we develop more solutions to make sure that all students get equitable access. A shout-out to Karen Neale (St. Philips), Julie Anne Carlson (First Presbyterian), Erin Snell (UU Annapolis), and James White (UU Annapolis), among so many others who made this a successful start.
UNEMPLOYMENT UPDATE
Martin Smith (UCC Annapolis) continues to review the latest on the unemployment system in Maryland, including the extraordinary challenges facing those trying to make their claims over a seemingly broken portal. Updates are in ACT's Unemployment Resource File.
We are continuing to strategize the best ways to take action around unemployment and housing. Contact us for more info, aaaciaf@gmail.com.
MENTAL HEALTH IN COVID-19
Our Mental and Behavioral Health Team recommends the Mental Health Town Hall as a way to learn about resources available. Further, they are working on ways to engage a "Mental Health First Aid" program with our food security efforts to further engage issues around substance abuse, mental health, and unique challenges facing households in this time. Contact dr.carney@outlook.com.
