Town Halls, Stimulus Checks, Mental Health Resources and More!
Dear Neighbor:
Under the CARES Act stimulus package, Congress approved individual aid payments to millions of Americans. The payments have started arriving, if you haven't received yours see below for more info. I've been working with Legislative leadership on bringing back as many resources as possible to our community and I hope you'll join me at one of our upcoming virtual Town Halls:
- A town hall with Congresswoman Harley Rouda on April 28,
- A town hall with SQS to discuss non-profits on April 29,
- And future town halls to discuss small businesses and other COVID-19-related issues. Please reply to let us know which subjects would help you best!
All of this information and other updates are available on my Facebook page.
On Wednesday, I hosted my third virtual Town Hall where we discussed COVID-19 resources for homeowners and renters. If you were unable to join us live, you can catch the replay here:
Thank you to Congressman Alan Lowenthal; Lisa Sitkin, Senior Staff Attorney, National Housing Law Project; and Anya Lawler, Policy Advocate, Western Center for Law and Poverty for sharing their expertise.
On April 15, my office also hosted a town hall where we discussed filing for EDD and other unemployment resources. You can catch the replay here:
Thank you to Congresswoman Katie Porter, Gloria Alvarado, Executive Director of the Orange County Labor Federation, Jenna Gerry, Legal Aid, Senior Staff Attorney, Legal Aid at Work, George Warner, Wage Protection Fellow, Legal Aid at Work.
Federal Updates
For those who are still waiting for updates around their COVID-19 stimulus payment, we wanted to share a brief update. The IRS's online portal, Get My Payment, allows users to input bank account information to set up direct deposit and track payments.
Due to the volume of requests, there have been challenges with the tool, and we wanted to provide a guide for navigating the system:
- Go on the IRS's Get My Payment page. Then click on "Get My Payment."
- Fill out the online form, with your address. Please be aware of the address formatting requirements. The USPS website can help you with your formatting.
- For most individuals, the website will likely ask for you to verify your direct deposit information, AGI and refund or repayment total. This is all you need to do, and you will receive your stimulus payment soon.
- For others, you may get a message: "Payment Status Not Available."
- There are several reasons for the "Payment Status Not Available" message. Here's a reference page on the IRS website explaining why.
Please note: The IRS is currently in the process of updating the tool daily with new information, so there's no need to check back more often than once a day. Doing so more than three times a day will lock you out of the system. Wait 24 hours to try again later.
Those who do not receive their payment by direct deposit will get their stimulus payment in the mail, but not likely until May or later.
State Updates:
The state continues to provide daily COVID-19 updates on its dedicated hub. Please continue to visit: https://covid19.ca.gov for updates and resources for different industries.
For unemployment: Employment Development Department (EDD) has added staff and created a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance page, with additional resources going live on April 28.
For expedited service: Apply online, avoid calling EDD if you can, and opting-in for the electronic benefits rather than a check, for faster processing.
Finally: Governor Newsom has unveiled six critical indicators that the state will look at, before decisions are made on reopening.
Orange County Updates:
The Orange County Health Care Agency continues to provide information on its website, including case counts, and updated guidance from the OC Health Care Agency officer. We recommend signing up for text alerts by texting OCCOVID19 to 888777.
- On April 14, Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector Shari L. Freidenrich announced that property tax penalties would be waived for those being impacted by COVID-19. Individuals must submit the penalty cancellation request form, including documentation and pay base taxes.
- On April 9, Orange County Health Office Dr. Nichole Quick, announced a recommendation for face masks to be worn by all individuals while in public and conducting essential business.
Individual cities within our district have also mandated specific face mask ordinances, including:
Remember: Please do not use surgical masks or N95s. We should continue to do everything in our power to ensure medical-grade PPE is directed to health care workers and first responders.
If you need an alternative: bandanas, scarves, hand-sewn fabric masks and other cloth barriers can help keep us all safe. But it’s important to remember that face masks are not a substitute for social distancing, and it’s important we continue to practice both.
For additional guidance on how to make and wear a mask, please check out this link from the CDC on face mask guidance.
Mental Health Resources: COVID-19 has created a lot of uncertainty and change within our lives and finding mental health resources is necessary.
The OC Health Agency’s Behavioral Health Services division is providing phone and telehealth resources throughout this period. Please visit their website for additional resources.
Finally, a note on the 2020 census:
If you haven’t already, I wanted to encourage everyone to please take ten minutes to fill out the 2020 Census. It’s as easy as visiting 2020census.gov and filling out the survey.
Remember: it’s more critical than ever to help get federal funding to our community, and that begins with being counted. If you have any questions, please visit the state census website.
And you can catch my Census video:
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me directly, or call my team at: (949) 251-0074. Stay home, stay safe, stay strong.