Community Resilience Resources
As we all navigate the uncertainty of this challenging time, we wanted to offer up some resources that can help you seek assistance, lend a hand or gain a spark of hope or inspiration. Find more in our Resources to Take Action. Know of other resources we should list here? Contact us at allison@sustainablesolano.org
Assistance Resources
Solano Public Health has a long list of community resources here and on this community resource page, including resources for seniors, for workers and business owners, healthcare and public assistance, local food access and family resources.
Find the latest information and Solano County’s Roadmap to Recovery reopening efforts here.
The California Coronavirus Response Website has resources on the disease as well as how to:
OnwardCA.org has resources for those who have lost jobs and are seeking work, training opportunities or other assistance.
Watch the U.S. Department of Labor’s COVID-19 and the American Workplace video (English) (Spanish). For more information, fact sheets and a tool to determine eligibility form the relief offered by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) visit: dol.gov/FFCRA
Independent contractors are able to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (federally funded unemployment benefits) under the Cares Act.
Travis Credit Union and Solano Public Health have partnered to produce the Strengthening Your Financial Foundation in the Time of COVID-19 video series:
- Learn how to budget through a process of prioritization
- Housing and food support
- Prioritizing savings
- Managing your credit
USDA is offering its COVID-19 Federal Rural Resource Guide for rural residents, businesses and communities. It includes technical, training and management assistance, financial assistance and state and local assistance.
Small Business
- Get the latest news and resources (updated daily) from the Small Business Development Center
- Watch informative videos and get the latest news from the Solano Economic Development Corporation
- Cultivate Community Food Co-op is highlighting small businesses in its Local Business Video Series
Local farmers
- Find resources on CAFF’s website
- American Farmland Trust’s Farmer Relief Fund continues to raise money that will support small and mid-size farms with direct sales that include farmers markets and sales to schools, restaurants and other institutions. More details here
Food Resources
Find the latest information on school meal locations at the Solano County Office of Education website.
Find out about the next food box distribution from Food is Free Solano through text notifications or by following FIFS on Facebook.
Faith Food Fridays now distributes food three days a week. Learn more here.
Sign up for food for local farms through Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs). Local farms that offer CSAs have been overwhelmed by demand, so check their websites to see if they are offering new memberships at this time.
Find out how some Vacaville farms are distributing produce and other farm products on the Pleasants Valley Agriculture Association’s website.
Support local Restaurants and Retailers and Local Farm Stands and Farmers Markets. Some have expanded their services and offerings to better meet the needs of their communities. Check for the latest information on their sites.
Know a nonprofit? The USDA is offering Farmers to Families Food Boxes for distribution through approved organizations.
Share the excess and donate to families in need through various programs.
Share with neighbors! Consider something like a Food is Free stand (Food is Free Solano started in Benicia and is growing its reach through pop-up stands) or community gleaning efforts like Solano Gleaning Initiative or Rotary Feeding Families.
Cooking at home? Find recipes here and read how to stock your pantry for uncertain times here. Join us for an online cooking class! Find recipes for cooking on a budget in this free download of Good and Cheap.
Get familiar with what expiration dates mean and how long foods will actually last in this informative New York Times article.
Here are 10 Tips on Safe Shopping from the California Grocers Association, which is offering guidelines against hoarding in its #Enough4All campaign
Here are some tips for supporting Sustainable Food Systems during the crisis from FoodPrint.
Fire Resources
Fire-Safe Landscaping
- Interested in learning how a lean, clean and green yard can add a layer of fire protection to your home? Find the video on Lush Landscapes for Fire Prone Areas here and get the slides here
- There are guidelines for how to use mulch for landscaping in Wildland Urban Interface areas. Learn more about those here
- Get tips on eco-appropriate homescaping for wildfire resilience at Defensiblespace.org
- Check out this recorded webinar on fire smart landscaping from Daily Acts.
- Read this article on fire-safe landscaping by Kate Frey
- Learn about permaculture approches to fire ecology in this two-part series (with tons of linked resources) from Santa Cruz Permaculture
Solano RCD
The Solano Resource Conservation District has compiled a list of wildfire resources and has a sign up list for a site visit and assessment to address post-wildfire recovery needs.
Farm Fire Recovery
Bounty of the County: Stronger Together raised funds to help Solano County farmers with losses from the wildfires. Through disaster relief funding from the Solano Community Foundation, Sustainable Solano continues to support those farms. Learn more here.
Solano Farm Bureau Fire Victims Resources
The Solano Farm Bureau has resources all on its LNU Fire Victims Resources page.
Pleasants Valley Agriculture Association
Many of the local farms that were damaged by the fire are in the Pleasants Valley area. Learn more about each farm and ways to donate directly to them here. Those interested in volunteering to help the farms with recovery once it is safe to do so can scroll down to use the volunteer signup form.
CAFF Family Farmer Emergency Fund
Community Alliance with Family Farmers has re-launched its emergency fund to offer direct support to the agricultural community impacted by disaster. Learn more here.
CAFF Disaster Recovery Resources
CAFF also has this site full of distaster recovery resources from financial aid to how to restore the land after a fire.
SBA Disaster Loans
Low-interest federal disaster loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration are available to businesses and residents in Solano County and other counties with destruction from the fires. Learn more here.
FEMA Assistance
FEMA assistance is also available for those who suffered losses from the fires. Learn more here and here.
Solano Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund
Donate through Solano Community Foundation’s Disaster Relief Fund to support grants for organizations serving Solano County residents. Learn more here.
Inspiration
Share your vision for transforming your community into a Resilient Neighborhood.
Check out Touro University’s “Zoom into Wellness” archive for a selection of hour-long webinars on health and wellness topics.
Take time for self-care by listening to this presentation on Personal Permaculture: Vital Life Skills to Restore the Sense of Self or this presentation on Restoring the Sleep Well: The Parallels of Sleep & Water.
The Team Huddle Playbook from Mobius suggests ways to navigate adapting to rapidly changing times.
Engage with Pachamama Alliance’s Awakening The Dreamer free online course that explores the challenges facing humanity and the opportunities to create a new future. The organization is also offering ways to connect through an ongoing online community.
Santa Cruz Permaculture shares its resources and home-based activities from its Permaculture Design Certificate course on its website. From community development to right livelihood to regenerating watersheds and soils, find them here.
Watch Wild & Scenic Film Festival‘s Films for Social Distancing, a collection of short films offered for free by the organization.
Download Bioneers’ ‘Ecological Medicine: Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves’ e-book for free. Ecological medicine is a unifying field that embodies the recognition that human and environmental health are one.
Reflect on the concept of “revillaging” our communities as discussed in this Salon article.
For advice on self-care and care for those around us, listen to this interview with psychotherapist Leslie Davenport posted by the Post Carbon Institute.
Help Others
Find ways to safely volunteer in your community using the California Volunteers search tool. Volunteer work can include meal delivery, shelter and food bank donations, wellness checks, hygine kits, blood donation and supporting local nonprofits. On the page you can also find:
Vacaville Senior Hotline is a resource for delivering essential supplies to seniors and connecting seniors with others for social contact. Volunteers who can use their own vehicles are needed, as well as those who can support the hotline. Contact seniorhelp@cityofvacaville.com or 707-449-5100 to volunteer or seek services.
Reach out to neighbors
- Nextdoor, which has launched a ‘Help Map’ for those seeking help and neighbors who can offer assistance.
- On Facebook, the Solano Area Pandemic Neighbors 4 Neighbors public group is sharing information and ways to help.
Get Outside
Work in your garden:
- Follow these video tutorials to find out how to prep and plant your fruit and vegetable garden beds!
- Learn how to create a sustainable yard (click on any of these demonstration food forests to see what was used in each). This series of videos walks you through the elements of a food forest garden.
- Learn more about plants, soil and water resources.
- Find out what to plant when in your annual vegetable garden.
- Visit your local nursery. More information here.
- Learn about everything from container gardening to regrowing your vegetables from scraps to keeping backyard chickens in these videos.
- Find out what to do in your garden now using Sunset Magazine’s garden guide
Explore nature near home:
Playgrounds and other facilities are closed (plan on locked restrooms) but parks, including Solano Land Trust public access properties, have started to reopen with visitors encouraged to maintain physical distancing.
Find out more on these sites:
Greenbelt Alliance
- Guidelines for Open Spaces during COVID-19
- DIY Hikes (with some ideas for at home, since many parks are closed)
Explore from Home
As more people stay inside, a variety of venues have opened up virtual options for music, art and entertainment. Here are some:
- Free streaming from The Met Opera
- Music, dance and theater from The Kennedy Center’s digital stage
- Online exhibits from the International Folk Art Museum
- Green Music Center has gathered a list of links to connect with the arts
- Take a variety of virtual trips and tours, from art museums to zoos:
- Find some on this list
- Here’s a list from Good Housekeeping
- The Oakland Zoo has webcams, resources and educational activities to do at home
- Watch the Brooks Falls Brown Bears (or follow links to other nature cams) or check in on the Smithsonian Zoo’s pandas
- Learn science, art and human perception online from The Exploratorium
- Get a virtual ticket to stream a recording of a play, such as Love from Marin Theater Company.
- Take a virtual tour of the National Museum of National History
- Online exhibits from the New Mexico Museum of Art
- The Art Institute of Chicago’s online collections
Envisioning a Caring Economy
The New Economy Coalition has resources from its network, for emergency funding and other links.
Learn about our Conversations series on the Next Economy
Ask yourself the Heirarchy of Consumption questions before making a purchase
Do the businesses you support meet some of the guidelines on this Next Economy checklist?