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City’s March for Meals ends; more than 83,000 meals distributed

The city’s “Metro March for Meals” effort ended on April 3. The meals pick-up program for seniors 60 year and older began in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Louisville.

Louisville Metro Senior Nutrition, part of the Office of Resilience and Community Services, is focusing its limited funding by returning to its original intent of serving those already deemed eligible through the Meals on Wheels and Senior Congregate Meals programs, as well as an additional 255 people who are currently on the waiting lists for home-delivered programs.

Going forward, there will be no distribution of meals at the seven sites that had been operating through the Metro March for Meals program since March 17, 2020.  More than 83,000 frozen meals were handed out over that three-week period.

Beginning Monday, April 6:

  • The nearly 400 homebound senior clients served by Senior Nutrition’s Meals on Wheels program will continue to receive their meal delivery once per week with a five-frozen meal pack until daily, hot meal delivery can resume. In addition, 255 pre-certified individuals will be added to home-delivery routes over the course of April.
  • Though the nearly 20 Senior Congregate Nutrition Sites across Jefferson County remain temporarily closed, the Senior Nutrition staff will continue working with congregate participants to ensure their nutritional needs are being met  during this critical period.

The city continues to explore options for other resources to serve even more vulnerable residents of our community.

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Mental Health Resources

During this pandemic, it’s not just our physical health that’s at risk — we have to think about our mental health too. 

For crisis support:

If you or someone you love is thinking about suicide, call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also visit them online.

If you are in crisis, send a message to the Crisis Textline at 741-741. It is available 24/7 as a free service. It has volunteers who are trained to be supports for people who are struggling emotionally. 

If you’d prefer Kentucky-specific info, local suicide hotlines and suicide prevention resources are available here.

If you are an LGBTQ young person (13-24) in crisis, call The Trevor Lifeline: 1-866-488-7386 or visit them online here.

Trans Lifeline has a crisis hotline for trans folks at 877-565-8860, with more resources online here.

Stay safe, everyone!

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ElderServe needs volunteers

ElderServe is an agency supporting adults over 60 in Jefferson County.

They 2-4 volunteers to help distributing commodities to seniors:

  • April 8 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM
  • April 17 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM

They also need help maintaining the grounds at their center. Contact Lisa Smith to volunteer.

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“What Kentuckians Need to Know about COVID-19,” from Kentucky Voices for Health

Kentucky Voices for Health has put out an info graphic called What Kentuckians Need to Know about COVID-19.This is a comprehensive set of FAQs that can be used for talking about coronavirus in your communities. It includes basic facts about the virus and touches on transmission, who’s at risk, prevention, testing, when to seek care, social distancing, flattening the curve, the economic impact, available resources, and how people can help in their communities.

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“Help for Kentuckians During COVID-19” from Kentucky Voices for Health

Kentucky Voices for Health has published: Help for Kentuckians During COVID-19

This describes the public assistance programs  available to help Kentuckians weather this recession. This incorporates all of the recent policy changes made through executive order and emergency regulations that consumers need to know. Please note major changes have been made to the Medicaid program, in particular. During the current state of emergency, no one will lose coverage, income eligibility has been expanded, documentation requirements will be more flexible, and absolutely NO copays or prior authorizations will be required for ANY Medicaid service. Many reporting requirements for SNAP, KTAP, and CCAP have also been suspended.

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Local medical staff desperately need donations of masks and exam gloves to fight COVID-19

As COVID-19 spreads, frontline health workers are running out of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as n95 masks, surgical masks, exam gloves, and face shields to keep themselves and their patients safe. There is a shortage of PPE across the country because so many people have become sick at once. Businesses and members of the public may have some of these items at their homes. Local volunteers have created a website to facilitate donations in Kentucky.

At maskmatchky.com, you can find healthcare organizations across the state that have asked for help. Please consider checking to see if you have these items and give what you can. Instructions for making donations can be found on the website. In this time of crisis, getting this equipment to healthcare providers will be life saving.