From food banks and emergency cash to mutual aid for South Side seniors, our Chicago COVID Resource Finder is an updated database of more than 1,300 resources filtered online and via text.
By Darryl Holliday
Chicago’s collective response to the current crisis has brought out the best in this city. We’ve created a new way to track all the resources available. (Photo: Christopher Brown)
COVID-19 has taken a toll on all Chicagoans, but much like everything else in this city, the burden is not equally distributed. From statistics showing that the city’s legacy of racism has led to a higher proportion of COVID-related deaths among Black Chicagoans to the disastrous effects of the digital divide as life migrates online, the true cost of the pandemic stretches ahead of us.
City Bureau was created to address the inequity of information and news in this city. Especially in these socially isolating times, it’s information that connects us to resources, facts and a sense of community.
That’s why, today, we’re introducing the Chicago COVID Resource Finder, a data bank of over 1,300 neighborhood, city, country and state resources that can be filtered so people can easily find what they need. Resources can be sorted by who is eligible (immigrants, families, business owners), what is offered (food, money, legal help), languages spoken and location. You can access it via SMS and by the end of the week the Resource Finder will be translated into 10 languages.
We built this tool after surveying dozens of community groups, service organizations and public officials and in-depth conversations with local partners. In recent weeks we’ve seen dozens of resources spring up, from mutual aid networks on the city’s South and West Sides to mobilization efforts designed to check in on seniors. But too often these links were lost in the deluge of news, tweets and Slack messages. This mirrors a few things we’ve heard from community partners about the current hierarchy of information needs when it comes to people who need information most urgently right now:
Ease of Use: The sheer volume of new resources is an obstacle. Long lists and articles, along with the constant flow of social media, have made it hard to quickly find and prioritize the actual info someone needs—the hours of a food bank, for example, or if an undocumented person can apply for emergency cash.
Access: Many of those resources were built for the internet age. If you lack internet access, or are rationing a hotspot to save money, it can be frustrating to find updated information without having to call multiple agencies with long wait times.
Accuracy: The situation around COVID-19 is evolving quickly, so it’s hard to know if a resource is legitimate and actively updated. As the Better Government Association recently reported, coronavirus scams are surging across Illinois and experts predict more.
Our reporters will update and fact-check this central repository of resources for as long as it’s needed here in Chicago—and we want your input on new resources and mistakes to flag—because this response wouldn’t be possible without the many local organizers, elected officials and inspired individuals who have worked from the start of the pandemic to help fellow Chicagoans. We thank the input of our community partners, including Chicago United for Equity, Rohingya Cultural Center, West Side United, Organized Communities Against Deportations, The Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance (MIRA), Austin Coming Together, Raise Your Hand, Masjid Taqwa, Believers Bail Out, PODER Works, The Goodie Shop and The Firehouse Community Arts Center. And we want to shout out the efforts of Block Club Chicago, South Side Weekly, West Side United, Accion, ICIRR and the City of Chicago, whose lists were essential to our research.
In conjunction with the COVID Resource Finder, we’re also introducing our Information Aid Network, a phone tree for information access that will continue beyond the pandemic. Starting this week, City Bureau’s Documenters community will make calls to people with limited digital access in partnership with local organizations and Free Press’ News Voices to fact-check rumors, answer questions and connect people with local journalists.
If you represent a direct-service organization in or near Chicago, we want to work with you to meet your community’s information needs—fill out this form to start the conversation.
We feel Chicago’s collective response to the current crisis has brought out the best in this city. The collaborative spirit that has emerged in recent weeks has been nothing short of incredible. We also recognize that there’s still work to do as the coronavirus pandemic exacerbates personal hardship, along with the digital divide in our communities. Help us share the COVID Resource Finder by forwarding this link or by texting “covid” to 312-436-2280.
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