In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Amberley Collaborative is collecting local volunteer and service opportunities, including opportunities to care for neighbors without person-to-person contact.
We have suggestions in these categories:
Texas rent relief
Immediate help for people in emotional distress
Training to be a Crisis Text Line counselor
Spanish speakers helping one another
Food security
Donating blood and other needed products
Calling and checking on neighbors
Making deliveries
Texas Rent Relief
Prevent homelessness during Covid. Beginning February 15, 2021, Texas Rent Relief is accepting applications for emergency assistance to pay rent and utility bills. Details at TexasRentRelief.com and 833-9TX-RENT (833-989-7368).
Please share this rent relief flier far and wide in Texas.
Click here to download the rent relief flier in accessible PDF format
Immediate help for people in emotional distress
Keep these phone numbers on hand to share with neighbors and loved ones in distress:
As always, call 911 for a life-threatening crisis.
Texas Health and Human Services is offering a COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line, available 24/7: 833-986-1919. Mental health professionals help callers deal with anxiety, depression, stress, grief, and worry.
Locally in Waco and McLennan County, MHMR’s Mobile Crisis Outreach Team (MCOT) provides community-based crisis assessment and response. The team meets people where they are: at home, on the street, in the hospital, or in a shelter. Call 866-752-3451.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers free and confidential support for people in distress by phone and by chat, in English and in Spanish, as well as multiple options for people who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing. Here are the numbers, English: 800-273-8255; Spanish: 888-628-9454; Deaf and hard-of-hearing—TTY and chat: 800-799-4889, video relay service or voice/caption phone: 800-273-8255. Like the phone lines, chat is available 24/7. Because of the high demand, it may be necessary to wait for a counselor. The wait is worth it.
The SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline provides 24/7 crisis counseling and support to people experiencing emotional distress related to natural or human-caused disasters: 800-985-5990. Services are available in English and Spanish.
The Crisis Text Line offers free, confidential support to people in crisis via text. Text Home to 741741.
The Alzheimers Association’s helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year. They offer support for people living with dementia and their loved ones and caregivers. With bilingual staff and a translation service, the hotline can accommodate callers in more than 200 languages. Dial 711 for a TRS operator (telecommunications relay service). On the helpline’s website you will also find links for live chat and a form you can type your question into if you prefer.
Finally, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) offers a list of Warmlines that offer free confidential support in noncrisis situations. The Warmlines are listed by state, but many accept out-of-state calls. Some of them ask callers to leave a message and receive a call back.
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Training to be a Crisis Text Line counselor
Night owls are especially needed for the Crisis Text Line, but if you’re not a night owl, you can volunteer as well. Text Line volunteers must complete a 30-hour online training and commit to serving 4 hours a week for at least 200 hours total.
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Food security
Infant formula has been scarce. Lactating mothers can donate their milk to the Mothers Milk Bank, which has a drop-off location at Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest Hospital in Waco. There is a process to get started as a donor, which includes a phone screening and blood work. The donated milk first goes to medically frail infants. Increasing the quantity of milk in the milk bank is one of the best ways to increase food security for our youngest neighbors. Call 877-813-6455 to begin your 10-minute phone screening.
Spanish speakers helping one another
La Puerta Waco is seeking Spanish-speaking contributors to its La Puerta Hablemos Facebook Live series, which will address mental health and other concerns during the pandemic. If you would like to contribute, please email Israel Loachamin at info@lapuertawaco.com.
Donating blood and other needed products
Carter BloodCare has experienced a reduction in donations during the COVID-19 crisis. You can help by donating blood and by organizing a blood drive. Donating to a blood bank is always safe, and Carter BloodCare has implemented additional safety protocols during the pandemic. To donate blood you can visit Carter BloodCare’s donor center at 206 Archway Drive in Woodway, or search for a mobile blood drive by zip code. To organize a blood drive, call 817-412-5384 or email bookablooddrive@carterbloodcare.org.
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Calling and checking on neighbors
One thing nearly all of us can do is to check on our neighbors. If everyone checks on the folks who live next door and across the street, we will all have someone looking out for us.
Friends for Life, which helps elderly and disabled people live independently in the community, has over 350 clients who need regular check-ins by phone to see whether they have any urgent needs. This is a way you can help while staying home yourself. To volunteer, go to the Friends for Life volunteer sign-up page, click “Apply Now,” and take it from there. Volunteers need to submit to a background check before they begin serving. Questions? Contact area coordinator April Love at April@friendsforlife.org.
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Making deliveries
Friends for Life, which helps elderly and disabled people live independently in the community, is setting up a system to deliver food and other necessities to their clients. To volunteer, go to the Friends for Life volunteer sign-up page, click “Apply Now,” and take it from there. Volunteers need to submit to a background check before they begin serving. Questions? Contact area coordinator April Love at April@friendsforlife.org.
Help us identify service opportunities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Please be sure to include contact information so we can learn more about the opportunity and, if you have them, details on how to sign up.