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Explore programs in your area to help with parenting skills, crisis intervention, home visiting programs, community and school-based mentoring, and more.
COVID-19: Family Resource Bank
Concrete Support in Times of Need
When you need help right now, wherever you are.
- Trouble paying rent? Visit Stop TX Eviction to understand your legal rights, the eviction process, and steps you can take to protect yourself.
- Texas 2-1-1 helps Texans connect with the services they need. Information available in English and Spanish.
- FindHelp.org is similar to 2-1-1 and includes additional languages.
- Visit the TXSchools.gov MealFinder Map to find free school breakfast and lunch in your area .
- Check instok.org before you go shopping to see if what you need is in stock near you.
- The Texas Youth Helpline offers 24/7 help for parents and children of all ages. Call 1-800-989-6884, text 512-872-5777, or chat.
- The new Statewide COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call toll-free at 1-833-986-1919.
- Unemployed? Apply for benefits online at the Texas Workforce Commission.
Social and Emotional Competence of Children
Kids are resilient, but they need your help to stay focused.
- Childmind has a blog post with advice on Supporting Teenagers and Young Adults During the Coronavirus Crisis.
- Coronavirus: Free Printable Comic for Kids helps to teach younger children about what COVID is and how to stay healthy.
- Download COVIBOOK: Supporting and Reassuring Children Around the World for you and your kids to talk about the COVID crisis.
- My Hero is You: How Kids Can Fight COVID-19! by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), is written for children around the world affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Translations of "My Hero is You" in a wide variety of languages can be found on the IASC website.
Social Connections
Lean on others for support - we're all in this together!
- SAMSHA Resource: Virtual Resources for those in Recovery
- Sheltering in Place: How to Cope (English and Spanish)
- Go on a digital field trip to the National Gallery of Art, The Olympic Museum, the Palace of Versailles, national parks and much, much more by perusing the collections on Google Arts & Culture.
- 75+ Entertaining and Educational Activities for when the whole family is stuck indoors
Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
Being a parent is stressful on the best days; here are some additional tools to help
- The National Head Start website has gathered a variety of COVID-19 resources for programs, parents and educators at home
- Bright by Text is a nationwide text messaging service that helps parents and caregivers of children prenatal to age eight make the most of everyday interactions.
- Positive Parenting & COVID-19: 10 Tips to Help Keep the Calm at Home.
- Tips for Coping with a New Baby During COVID-19.
- First Pathways is offering instructional videos of age-appropriate activities that require only simple household items and can be played almost anywhere.
- Learning resource via YouTube by age, meant to augment existing learning and education.
- Twelve free educational programs are launching through the Minecraft Marketplace.
Parental Resilience
Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.
- The Children's Advocacy Center of Texas has published Managing Stress During COVID-19: A Resource for Parents in English and Spanish.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a resource page on how to manage stress and anxiety during the coronavirus outbreak.
- Cook Children's has some great resources for parenting during COVID-19.
- Got kids? Try these 11 quick tips for working from home while they're with you.
- Five tips for effectively working from home during the coronavirus outbreak, when you have kids.