Information, Resources for the Community amid COVID-19

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc., (ABLE), and Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. (LAWO) continue to serve clients during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this time of uncertainty, people continue to have legal needs to preserve their housing, safety, and economic security. We remain committed to meeting those needs.

Below is a list that compiles information, resources, and other updates as it relates to assistance connected to COVID-19. It will be updated regularly.

COVID-19 Resources for clients are available at https://legalaidline.lawolaw.org/covid19/.

We are following recommendations by the Ohio Department of Health to limit the spread of the Coronavirus. Almost all ABLE and LAWO attorneys, paralegals, and administrative employees are working from home; and, our office locations remain closed to the public. But we are still providing services to the most marginalized members of our community. We are still representing clients in scheduled court hearings if they are open.

Our offices in Toledo, Dayton, Springfield, Sandusky, Defiance, Lima, and Findlay will remain closed to the public through through May 1, 2020.

People living on low incomes are the most vulnerable to loss of jobs, housing, and health when disaster hits. We are working with community partners to identify ways to minimize the effects of the pandemic and prevent the loss of homes and access to food and healthcare and continue to seek civil protection orders for clients. Together we will overcome this difficult time.

Here’s how to contact us:

Client intake – online or by phone. To apply for legal help:
- Schedule an appointment by phone – call LegalAidLine at 1-888-534-1432 or apply online at www.legalaidline.org.
- Current clients, please contact your assigned attorney or paralegal with any questions about your case.
For all other inquiries, call us at (800) 837-0814 (ABLE) or (877) 894-4599 (LAWO)

We will keep the public updated about any changes via ablelaw.org and lawolaw.org and through our social media channels:

ABLE on Facebook, LAWO on Facebook
ABLE on LinkedIn, LAWO on LinkedIn
ABLE on Twitter, LAWO on Twitter
ABLE on Instagram, LAWO on Instagram

Last Updated: 9:30 a.m. on 4-22-20

Legal Aid Resources for Clients:

COVID-19 Resources for clients are available at https://legalaidline.lawolaw.org/covid19/.

CDC Eviction Moratorium Packet

Extension for SNAP

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in Ohio are not required to renew their benefits for the next few months. The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week issued a waiver to the state allowing an extension for select benefit recertifications and renewals. Any SNAP recipients whose benefits are set to expire in March, April or May of 2020 won’t need to seek recertification until six months later.

Eviction Resource in the Dayton Area

ABLE, LAWO, and the Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, the City of Dayton and other agencies have teamed up to create a website that is focused on eviction information in the Dayton area that is focused on assisting thousands of renters during COVID-19 pandemic. Visit the site here.

Senior aid in Lucas County:

Some assistance provided for seniors, according to the Maumee Senior Center:

Maumee Senior Center is closed to the public. However, staff continues to work to provide services to seniors while observing social distancing and taking sanitary precautions.
We are providing hot home-delivered meals to seniors in Maumee, Waterville, Whitehouse, south Toledo and Monclova Monday through Wednesday. Seniors must call and request the service if they are not receiving it.
We are providing a hot home-delivered meal and a cold meal on both Thursday and Friday so the seniors have a meal over the weekend. Today we are providing 104 meals total. Carol Rambo has volunteered this week to assist with delivery.
We are providing weekly activity packets to the home-delivered meal seniors. The packets include items to help their mind, body and spirit. The packet is also available on the website.
We also distribute additional donations to the home-delivered meal seniors.
We are providing online grocery ordering assistance and delivery of grocery/prescriptions/personal items to seniors in Maumee, Waterville, Whitehouse, south Toledo and Monclova. However, seniors must have a valid credit card to be used to purchase the items.
We also are providing wellness calls on seniors, medical transportation to vital doctor's appointments and delivery of our loan supply equipment.

Utility Shutoffs

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has suspended disconnections including shutoff for customers whose bills are overdue during COVID-19.

Guarding against potential fraud:

Scammers are setting up websites, contacting people by phone and email, and posting disinformation on social media platforms. Learn more by clicking here about some examples of potential scams associated with COVID-19 and what to do if you're a victim of fraud connected to the pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) ALSO warned Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants after receiving reports of several possible SNAP fraud attempts. Read the USDA news release here.

Federal Courts in Ohio's Northern District closed until May 1

Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, chief judge for the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Ohio, ordered all courthouses closed to the public until May 1, 2020. The order includes federal courthouses in Akron, Toledo, Cleveland, and Youngstown. Gaughan ordered all civil and criminal trials postponed and any court proceedings to be conducted by telephone or via video wherever possible, according to the order issued Monday, March 23. Read the entire order here.

Governor Issues Stay at Home Order, Day Care Limited to 6 or less:

The order prohibits holding gatherings of any size and closes all nonessential businesses. It does NOT prohibit essential activities like going to the grocery store, receiving medical care, or taking your pet for a walk, according to the news release. Residents can return home from out of state and can leave the state. This FAQ offers some guidance on the order.

The order is expected to last until noon on April 6, 2020. Read the entire order here.

Instructions to watch Gov. Dewine's daily news conferences in different languages:

In an effort to increase the direct communication channels with multilingual speakers, Governor DeWine’s press conferences are now available in other languages. Please share widely! Thank you.

A fin de aumentar la comunicación directa con personas que hablan otros idiomas, las conferencias de prensa del Gobernador DeWine están ahora disponibles en otros idiomas. Favor compartir! Gracias.

SPANISH INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED BELOW THE ENGLISH TEXT

Governor Mike DeWine's daily press conference is available in numerous languages, including Spanish, soon after its completion. All press conferences are available on the Ohio Channel's YouTube page. You can find it at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCporaXCeaOJgZKz7y3C0zbg or by searching "The Ohio Channel" on YouTube.

A list of all available press conferences can be found under the "Video" tab. While it may take a couple of hours for the translation capabilities to be finalized, you will know they are ready when you see the "CC" symbol for closed captioning in the lower right of the player.

To choose a language for sub-titles, first click on the "CC" symbol in the lower right of the player. Once you have done that, select the settings icon (the gear next to the CC button) and choose the sub-titles/CC option. You will now have an "auto translate" option. After clicking on that, you will have numerous language options for close captioning.

You can view a YouTube tutorial on these options at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Y7W41VMxyQE&feature=emb_logo

INSTRUCCIONES EN ESPAÑOL:

La conferencia de prensa diaria del gobernador Mike DeWine estará disponible en numerosos idiomas, incluido el español, poco después de su finalización. Todas las conferencias de prensa están disponibles en la página YouTube del Canal de Ohio (The Ohio Channel.)

Usted puede encontrar la transmisión en https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCporaXCeaOJgZKz7y3C0zbg o puede buscar "The Ohio Channel" en YouTube.

La lista de todas las conferencias de prensa disponibles está archivada bajo la pestaña "Video". Si bien pueden pasar un par de horas hasta que se complete la traducción, sabrá que están dicha traducción está lista cuando vea el símbolo "CC" para los subtítulos en la esquina inferior derecha de la pantalla.

Para elegir un idioma para los subtítulos, primero haga clic en el símbolo "CC" en la esquina inferior derecha de la pantalla. Una vez que haya hecho eso, seleccione el icono de configuración (la tuerca junto al botón CC) y elija la opción de subtítulos / CC. Ahora tendrá una opción de "traducción automática". Después de hacer clic aquí, podrá escoger entre la lista de idiomas para subtítulos. Si desea ver un tutorial que le describe los pasos a tomar, puede ir a la siguiente página: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=Y7W41VMxyQE&feature=emb_logo

Equitable Access and Rights of Students to Enroll

Federal law stipulates that all children in the United States are entitled equitable access to a public elementary and secondary education regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, national origin, citizenship, immigration status, or the status of their parents/guardians. Schools must ensure that students are not barred from enrolling in public schools at the elementary and secondary level based on their own citizenship or immigration status, or that of their parents or guardians. This includes providing students with limited or interrupted formal education access to instruction that is age and grade-appropriate. Inquiring about a student's immigration or citizenship status is unnecessary to providing students with public education and may have a chilling or discouraging effect on student enrollment. The Department holds that traditional public and community schools may not inquire and require information on the immigration or citizenship status of a student or parent. Parents and guardians must be informed, in language that is understandable, that providing such information is optional and does not change the right to enroll in school. This applies to registration processes that families complete online and to processes that occur in person.

Resources from the U.S. Department of Education:
Fact Sheet: Information on the Rights of All Children to Enroll in School
Los Derechos de Todos los Niños a Matricularse en la Escuela (Spanish)

Lucas County References:

Information about school closings, utility shutoffs, and information is are available by clicking here.

Unemployment:

If your employment has been affected by the spread of Coronavirus, you may apply for immediate unemployment benefits without the usual 1 week waiting period. Applications can be completed online at www.unemployment.ohio.gov or by calling the hotline at 877-644-6562.

Courts:

The Lucas County Domestic Relations Court and the Perrysburg Municipal Court have made changes to operations because of COVID-19.

Domestic Relations Judge David Lewandowski suspended the Lucas County Domestic Relations Court on Wednesday, March 25. While all hearings and court counseling appointments are suspended, new domestic violence civil protection order petitions may be filed, and the second-floor domestic violence center will continue operations. All filing deadlines also have been extended.

The court anticipates cases will be suspended until at least April 6. Call court administration at 419-213-6860 with questions.

Presiding Judge of the Perrysburg Municipal Court Aram Ohanian ruled all traffic cases rescheduled until after May 17, effective Wednesday. All OVI hearings, except for arraignments, will be rescheduled, and no jury trials will take place until after May 17.

All nonviolent misdemeanor cases will also be rescheduled, but felony and in-custody cases will continue as scheduled. Probation supervision will take place via telephone unless specifically ordered by the probation department or court.
Lucas County Juvenile Court suspended all visitations at the Juvenile Detention Center and the Youth Treatment Center. Some juvenile hearings also were rescheduled. Hearings in connection to abuse or neglect filed by Lucas County Children Services were not postponed and neither were detention hearings, domestic violence hearings or community detention hearings.

Free Food Available for Students in the greater Dayton Area:

Dayton Public Schools - Each Wednesday, students who visit a distribution site will receive enough meals to last five days, which includes 5 breakfasts and 5 lunches. Upcoming distribution dates include Wednesday, March 25th and Wednesday, April 1st. Food delivery for those who have already signed up will take place on Wednesdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Students must be present for food to be delivered.

Beavercreek City Schools- Feed the Creek will provide meals to all students within three locations. If you are unable to make these designated picks up times and would like meal support, please contact Feed the Creek at 937-626-7705 to make arrangements.

Kettering City Schools - Grab-and-go meals can be picked up daily between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at five of the district's school buildings. Meals will be available for ANY Kettering child 18-years-old and younger, as well as our Transition Services students.

Centerville City Schools- Monday-Friday through March 26, school buses and school transportation vehicles will deliver food to 14 locations across the Centerville-Washington Township community. Students can meet the school vehicles at the location closest to where they live to pick up their food. Food will be delivered to these seven locations at approximately 10-10:20 a.m. each day. Click here to find locations. If you have any questions, please contact the Student Nutrition Services supervisor via email or call (937) 433-8841, Ext. 2015.

Miamisburg City Schools- Food distribution will be weekly on Wednesdays during the school closure at the following locations from 4 PM-6 PM. Click here for a food distribution location. For any questions about this information or the locations for the food pick up, please call the central office staff at 937.866.3381.

Trotwood Schools- Providing lunches while schools are closed. Click here for details. Any questions please call Jim Putman, Nutritional Service Supervisor (937)854-3050 ext. 1120 or 1146. These sites are subject to change.

Effective Immediately: Due to increased demand, families will only be served once a month via the drive-thru. You MUST bring an ID or proof of household. The Foodbank last drive-thru will be held on 3/27/2020. Information for April distributions will be released later this month as we look to moving to scheduled appointments. For more information call 937-461-0265 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

More Info for the greater Dayton area:

Get the facts about COVID-19 from local experts. If you have questions, or want to check out a rumor, please call 937-225-6217, the Dayton & Montgomery County COVID- 19 Information Line. It's operated by Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County and open for calls Monday-Friday 8am-4pm. You can also visit www.phdmc.org for credible, up-to-date COVID-19 information. Fight fear with facts.

For more resources during this time, contact United Way of Greater Dayton HelpLink 211. The 24-hour lifeline to a free, confidential, and compassionate professional who will review your needs. Dial 211 for questions or concerns and or email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Statewide offices:

Courts:

Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court told local officials Thursday to find ways to limit time in courtrooms, but not eliminate access to courtrooms. She also suggested staying warrants based on traffic offenses. “I urge judges to use their discretion to release people held in jail and release incarcerated individuals who are in a high-risk category for being infected with the virus,” Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said during a news conference.

Together, we do the community justice.

Information, Resources for the Community amid COVID-19