Resources to navigate the COVID-19 crisis

One component of CICF’s COVID-19 response to our communities is to ensure that residents and grassroots organizations are aware of and have access to community resources and accurate information that help our most vulnerable populations stay healthy, safe, and survive during this time. Learn more about our approach to ensure stability in our most vulnerable communities during this crisis.

If you have a concern or a recommendation that we should include in this list, please contact us at COVID19@cicf.org.

For additional information and updates, we recommend:

Be a good neighbor.

Please share these resources with your community. If you have a neighbor who is isolated and likely not connected to reliable information and resources, please reach out and share this information with them. It could save their life. Be safe. Be kind.

FOOD ACCESS

  • Map: Shows where Marion County students can access free meals – LEARN MORE
  • Indy Hunger Network: Provides regular updates on where to find food assistance during COVID-19, including food pantry hours – LEARN MORE
  • Indy Hunger Network Compass App: Text 317-434-3758 to find area food pantries and food banks – LEARN MORE
  • Lyft Indy Grocery Access Program: Provides $1 Lyft rides to and from grocery stores on the Far Eastside and Near Northwest side of the city. Rides are $1 each way only when going to/from approved grocery stores and from/to qualifying areas. – LEARN MORE
  • MLK Center: Delivers food and picks up prescriptions for residents in Marion County, with priority given to those in Mid-north and Mid-town (due to reliance on volunteer staff). – LEARN MORE 
FOOD PANTRIES
  • Brookside Community Development Corporation – Food Pantry: Register online or call, in order to access the pantry.  – LEARN MORE
  • No Questions Asked Food Pantry: Provides grab-and-go bags for pick up at multiple locations. Delivery options available for those who cannot leave their homes.  – LEARN MORE
  • Edna Martin Christian Center: Food pantry located at 2605 East 25th Street, open Monday-Friday from 1-3 p.m. – LEARN MORE
  • Circle City Relief: Provides hot pizza, bread, produce, and clothing items to approximately 150 people each Sunday – LEARN MORE
  • Healthy Harvest Market: Located at 2828 East 10th Street, provides hot meals; delivery also available – LEARN MORE 
  • Brandywine Creek Farms: Delivering hot meals, fruits and vegetables, and toiletries – LEARN MORE
  • The Sharing Place Food Pantry: A material assistance program which serves nine zip codes in the Greater Indianapolis area (46216, 46218, 46219, 46220, 46226, 46235, 46236, 46250 and 46256) – LEARN MORE
  • Community Cupboard of Lawrence: A food pantry that serves Lawrence Township residents in need of assistance – LEARN MORE

Shelter, utilities, TRANSPORTATION & CHILDCARE

  • Brookside Community Development Corporation – Accepts applications for financial assistance for those living in the 46201 area who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. – LEARN MORE 
  • Circle City Relief: Directly connects people to emergency/transitional/long-term housing, addiction recovery and detox programs  – LEARN MORE
  • Spectrum Wi-Fi: All hotspots are open for public use, and offering 2 months of free wi-fi for households with PreK-12 students or college students, within their service area. Call 855-243-8892 to sign up – LEARN MORE
  • Internet Essentials from Comcast: New Internet Essential customers will receive 2 months free; after 2 months, cost is $9.95/month. When you sign up, you are also given the option to buy a discounted laptop at $149.99 – LEARN MORE

Employment

  • National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Restaurant Employee Relief Fund: Helps restaurant industry employees experiencing extraordinary hardship, such as a decrease in wages or loss of employment, in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Grants will be awarded as soon as possible to those individuals who meet the eligibility criteria, as reviewed and verified by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF). – LEARN MORE
  • Applying for Unemployment Benefits: All unemployment insurance filings must now be done electronically. – LEARN MORE
  • Employment Opportunities through WorkOne Indy: Up to date job opportunities – LEARN MORE

small business & Not-for-profit support

  • Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act: What Small Businesses and Not-For-Profits Need to Know: The CARES Act provides assistance through the Payroll Protection Program, which helps small businesses and not-for-profits keep their employees on the payroll, and the Small Business Association’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans Program. – LEARN MORE
  • Indy Chamber: The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to Indiana small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Small businesses, private non-profit organizations of any size, small agricultural cooperatives and small aquaculture enterprises that have been financially impacted as a direct result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) since Jan. 31, 2020, may qualify for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet financial obligations and operating expenses which could have been met had the disaster not occurred. – LEARN MORE
  • Indy Chamber Rapid Response Hub: Provides answers to questions from small businesses – LEARN MORE 
  • LISC Indianapolis: In partnership with KIVA, LISC is providing small business loans up to $15,000 at 0% for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis. – LEARN MORE

covid-19 health information

  • State: Vaccine information and eligibility – LEARN MORE
  • Local: Marion County Public Health Department – COV​ID-19 Drive-Thru Testing Form must be completed online prior to testing. – LEARN MORE
  • Local:  City of Indianapolis and Marion County coronavirus information page – LEARN MORE
  • Local:  IndyStar – Coronavirus Watch (local updates to stay healthy and safe) – LEARN MORE
  • State:  State of Indiana‘s coronavirus information homepage – LEARN MORE
  • State:  Indiana State Department of Heath coronavirus information page with related statistics – LEARN MORE
  • National:  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – LEARN MORE
  • Global:  World Health Organization (WHO) – LEARN MORE

Immigrants & Refugees

  • Immigrant Welcome Center (IWC): For resources, call 317-808-2326 – LEARN MORE
  • The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance (IUYA): For resources or assistance – LEARN MORE

health & MENTAL wellness

  • MLK Center: Delivers food and picks up prescriptions for residents in Marion County, with priority given to those in Mid-north and Mid-town (due to reliance on volunteer staff). – LEARN MORE 
  • American Red Cross: Provides free, online, self-directed psychological first-aid training – LEARN MORE
  • Options Behavioral Health System: Expert clinical staff and caring support staff are here to provide you or your loved one with the highest quality mental health and psychiatric disorder treatment 24/7/365. – LEARN MORE
  • Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center: Provides comprehensive care for all types of emotional and behavioral problems, including severe mental illness and substance abuse, with inpatient and outpatient services available in multiple locations throughout the city. – LEARN MORE
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness: Resources for coping with anxiety related to the current crisis – LEARN MORE
  • Step Up: Staff are available by phone (317-259-7013) and email (sthomas@stepupin.org) to provide safer sex kits, and free and inclusive sex education. The office is closed and testing services are suspended, however HIV/STD testing is available at the Damien Center and the Bellflower Clinic by appointment only. – LEARN MORE

education

  • Virtual School Day Toolkit: Provides grade-specific concepts, online classes, and practice questions, all free. – LEARN MORE
  • Foster Success: Provides support to foster care youth at their most critical time – when they are transitioning out of the foster care system. – LEARN MORE
  • COMCAST: Free at-home learning materials and resources online – LEARN MORE
  • Code Black Indy: Helps make tech accessible to all through education opportunities – LEARN MORE 
  • Contact Tracing Toolkit – helpful info and graphics about contact tracing calls – LEARN MORE 

ARTISTS & ARTS WORKERS 

  • Central Indiana Arts and Culture COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund: Rapid response grants to Central Indiana artists and arts workers – LEARN MORE

LEGAL 

  • Indiana Institute for Working Families: Has compiled a list of pro bono legal services – LEARN MORE
  • City of Indianapolis: Rescheduling and suspension of court cases, jury duty and crime prevention programs – LEARN MORE
  • National Council for Safety, Protection and Wellness: a resource for learning how to identify and avoid cybercrime and scams that have spiked since the pandemic – LEARN MORE