COVID-19 Resources

Dear LEVEL community,

We know this pandemic has been challenging for many as we all come to grips with a new reality. We’ve compiled a list of resources that we hope can help you begin to navigate what’s available to you during this time. This list is not exhaustive and we are aware that there are some people in our communities that are not eligible for some of the resources we’ve included below. We’ll continue to add to this list as we identify more BIPOC specific supports and better understand how the crisis continues to impact different communities.

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GENERAL GOVERNMENT RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS

• BC Government COVID-19 Website for news, updates, and resources specific to BC
• Government Benefit Information in plain language
• BC Government Support for Workers, Individuals, and Families (see pages 5-8)
• City of Vancouver COVID-19 Resources in: 繁体中文 (Traditional Chinese), 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese), ਪੰਜਾਬੀ (Punjabi), Español (Spanish), فارس (Farsi), Français (French), Tagalog, Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), 한국어 (Korean)

HOUSING

BC Hydro

• BC Hydro is halting all service disconnections for non-payment of bills and reducing electricity rates by 1%
• COVID-19 Relief Fund applies a 3-month credit to your BC Hydro account for eligible customers (avg credit will be $477). Applications will be accepted until June 30. Apply online.
• COVID-19 Customer Assistance Program offers bill deferral and payment plans for customers struggling due to impacts of COVID-19. Call Customer Assistance at 1-800-BC-HYDRO.
• Customer Crisis Fund is an existing program that grants of up to $600 off your energy bill. Apply online.

Renters and Landlords

• Evictions ban in effect for duration of crisis. No action required. Click here for more info.
• Freeze on rental rates means that no rent increases are allowed in BC, effective April 1. No action required. Click here for more info.
• BC Temporary Rental Supplement (BC-TRS) provides up to $500/month towards rent, paid directly to landlords, for eligible renters. Apply online.

Emergency Housing

• Existing shelters still active and additional emergency options may be available. New spaces have been secured for those without a safe place to self-isolate. Call 2-1-1 or search online.

INCOME SUPPORTS

• Visual graph on navigating CERB and EI
• Unlimited, unpaid job-protected leave for workers who are unable to work for reasons relating to COVID-19, retroactive to Jan 27, 2020. As a permanent change, workers now also have three days of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for people who cannot work due to illness or injury.
• Employment Insurance (EI): If you have stopped working because of COVID-19, you should apply for CERB whether or not you are eligible for Employment Insurance. Apply online via CERB.
• EI Sickness Benefit: One-week waiting period has been waived. Apply online via CERB.
• Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provides $2000/month to workers impacted due to COVID-19, including contractors and self-employed people. *Important: CERB eligibility has been expanded to include seasonal workers, those whose EI benefits have recently expired, and workers making less than $1000/month. Apply online.
• BC Emergency Benefit provides a one-time additional tax-free payment of $1000 to those on EI or CERB. Check back for application instructions.

Low- and moderate-income households:

• GST credit will provide an additional one-time boost for eligible individuals in April. Benefit is paid out according to your income tax return. More info here.
• Climate Action Tax Credit will provide an additional one-time boost of up to $564 for eligible families of 4 and $218 for eligible individuals in an enhanced payment in July. Children under 18 years old must be registered for the CCB to qualify. No other action is needed; benefit is paid out according to your income tax return. More info here.

Families with children:

• Canada Child Benefit (CCB) provides one-time boost of up to $300 per child in May. No action if you are already registered for CCB. Otherwise, apply online.
• Emergency Child Care Funding provides child care providers with emergency government funding on the condition that they not charge parents fees for any periods of closure or for vacant spaces and must reserve spaces for families, starting April. Check with your provider to see if they are in this program.
• Temporary Emergency Child Care available for essential service workers. Use the child care matching service for kids aged 0-5, otherwise contact your school directly for school aged kids. Call 1-888-338-6622 or register online for kids aged 0-5. Otherwise, contact your school. More info here.

Youth in care:

• Youth in Care will not age out of services during the pandemic.
• Agreements With Young Adults Program (AYA) program payments will continue to former youth-in-care despite school closures and training interruptions.

Post-secondary students:

• Emergency Assistance available for students at public post-secondary institutions. Non-repayable funds can be used to help with a broad range of costs, including living expenses, food, travel, portable computers and other supports for students who are not already able to study remotely. Contact your school’s financial aid office to apply. See backgrounder for contact list.
• Indigenous Emergency Assistance Fund available for Indigenous students at public post-secondary institutions can apply for non-repayable emergency assistance that can be used to help with a broad range of costs, including living expenses, groceries, cell phone bills, childcare, medical, dental, optical, and travel costs for family crisis or community obligations. Contact the Indigenous Student Service Centre on campus. See backgrounder for contact list.
• BC Student Loans repayments paused for six months without penalty, starting April. No action required.
• Canada Student Loans repayments paused for six months without penalty, starting April. No action required.
• Here2Talk provides free, confidential mental-health counselling and referral service for post-secondary students by app, phone, or online chat, 24-7. Call 1-877-857-3397 to speak with a counsellor or get more information online.

People on income assistance or disability assistance:

• Full exemption of CERB or EI for three months (no clawback).
• COVID-19 Crisis Supplement of additional $300/month for three months for those who do not qualify for federal emergency supports like CERB or EI. No action required, support boosts will be applied to next payments automatically. More info here.
• Work search” requirement for those on Income Assistance is suspended for now.

JUSTICE

• Limitation periods to commence court proceedings have been suspended.
• Civil Resolution Tribunal deadlines extended; fees waived for those struggling financially. Apply via Fee Waiver Request Form.

MENTAL HEALTH

• Access to free and low-cost virtual mental health services has been expanded across BC for adults, seniors, and youth. Front-line health care workers experiencing distress and mental health concerns in response to COVID-19 now also have access to increased mental health services. Full list of available services here.
• New BC COVID-19 mental health self-assessment tool is now available.
• VictimLink BC provides immediate 24/7 crisis support for victims of family or sexual violence is available by phone through VictimLink BC’s 24/7 telephone service. Call 1-800-564-0808 or send an email for more info.
• Here2Talk provides free, confidential mental-health counselling and referral service for post-secondary students by app, phone, or online chat, 24-7. Call 1-877-857-3397 to speak with a counsellor or get more information online.

PUBLIC TRANSIT

• TransLink: Fare-free boarding on all buses. Enter through rear of the bus, unless accessible loading is required. July 1 fare increase is deferred indefinitely. Service reductions in effect: check online before you go.
• BC Transit: Fare-free boarding on all buses. Enter through rear of the bus, unless accessible loading is required.

TAXES

• Filing due date for Income Tax Return is deferred to June 1. Payments owed are deferred until after August 31.

TRAVEL

• Repatriation assistance and Emergency Travel Loan of $5000 available to Canadians who are abroad. Call +1 613-996-8885 or send an email.
• British Columbians returning home must self-isolate for 14 days. Emergency Management BC and Service BC will provide support to enable compliance. More info here.

COMMUNITY SUPPORTS

• Vancouver COVID-19 Emergency Meals Map lists emergency food services status, supervised consumption sites, handwashing stations, available food banks.
• Vancouver Coming Together is a platform connecting people who need help and who can offer help locally. They also provide a Survival Fund to those in need.
• Free Food Services in Vancouver
• Downtown Eastside Response Fund mobilizes resources and coordinating operation to respond to COVID-19 for people at risk in the DTES.
• Organizations that provide free clothing 
• Services that are available to Two Spirit people, self-identified women, girls, trans women and non-binary folks including Health information, Crisis Lines, Drop-in centre, Food services, Housing, Items and supplies, Legal services, Sexual health, Community connections, and Employment services
• Mental Health Support
  • 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
    For individuals who are or know someone who is having thoughts of suicide. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and in up to 140 languages.
  • 310-Mental Health (310-6789)
    For individuals who would like emotional support, information and resources specific to mental health.
• Trusted COVID-19 Information
  • 1-888-COVID19 (1-888-268-4319)
    For non-health related information and services such as child care, travel restrictions, and funding support.
  • Province of B.C. COVID-19 Self Assessment Tool – An online guide to self-assessing symptoms.
  • Province of B.C. COVID-19 Self Assessment App – Mobile app with information on Self Assessment and resources for both Android and iPhone users.
  • BC Centre for Disease Control for general information about COVID-19 within B.C. 
  • Therapists of Colour Directory
  • VSB Community, Connection & Support for Students and Families

Last updated: April 24, 2020