If you’re experiencing an emergency and are unable to place a voice call, you can send a text to 911. Follow these steps to request emergency services:

1. Enter 911 in the “To” line.
2. Enter a brief message that includes the location of the emergency and type of service needed—police, fire or ambulance.
3. Hit send.
4. Respond to questions from the responding 911 specialist and follow the instructions provided.

Tips for using text-to-911:

• If text-to-911 is not available in your area, or if it is temporarily unavailable, you should receive a message from your carrier letting you know to place a phone or relay call.
• Pictures and/or videos cannot be received by 911 via text.
• If you include another contact on your text, it may not be received by 911.
• English is the preferred language for text, however, some limited translation services may be available.
• Text in short, simple messages; Do not use abbreviations or slang.
• Do not text and drive.

How to Properly Wear Your Facemask
Wearing a face mask in public helps prevent the spread of COVID-19 — but only if worn properly, covering both your nose and mouth. Read mask-wearing tips to get the maximum protection for yourself and others.
 
 
MONTGOMERY COUNTY RESOURCES
FREE CRISIS HOTLINES
·         Montgomery County Crisis Center: 240-777-4000
·         EveryMind Hotline: 301-424-0656


TRANSPORTATION
·         Participating taxicab companies will pick up and deliver food and meals from grocery stores, food banks and carry-out restaurants to Call-n-Ride participants’ doorstep. This is a contact-less delivery service; a phone call will confirm delivery. Click here for more information about scheduling and fare.
·         Comprehensive Guide to Public, Private, and Non-Profit Transportation for People with Disabilities & Adults 50+ and other Transportation Options in Montgomery County
Note – please call ahead to each organization, as protocol may have changed to follow pandemic guidelines
 
RECREATION
·         Virtual Recreation Hub for fitness, arts and crafts, virtual trips and tours, and much more!


FOR CAREGIVERS
·         Engage@Home YouTube Channel from Montgomery County Caregiver Support Program
 
FOR OLDER ADULTS
·         UPDATED /6/20 - FAQs for Older Adults
·         ElderSAFE Community Resource Guide from Charles E. Smith Life Communities
·         Teens Helping Seniors – for contact-less grocery delivery
·         AARP Coronavirus Information Tele-Town Halls
Thursdays | 1:00 pm | 855-274-9507


FOOD/NUTRITION RESOURCES
·         Multilingual Food Assistance Resources & Food Assistance Referral Map
·         Montgomery County Food Council – Resources on food assistance, grocery resources, benefit resources, prepared meals, including for seniors, and how to help. This site is also translated in Spanish.
·         Food Assistance Resource Directory (FARD):  Location, hours, and eligibility guidelines for 100+ sites in Montgomery County where residents can access food and benefits application assistance.
o   *Please note that hours of operation for providers listed in the FARD are subject to change, pending closures and staff availability during the COVID-19 outbreak. Please call ahead to verify opening hours.
·         Capital Area Food Bank Community Hubs in Montgomery County remain open. This site is also translated in Spanish.
·         flyers in English & Spanish for how to request food from Manna Food Center’s warehouse and food distribution sites are serving food to the community.
·         Adventist Community Services sites continue to operate


SUBURBAN HOSPITAL ONLINE PROGRAMMING
Suburban Free Webinar Series | Registration is required at events.suburbanhospital.org




 
Please review the schedule above, with several featured programs below:
 
Virtual Better Breathers Club
Tuesday, August 18 | 10-11 AM | FREE
Be part of this patient-centered and community-based club that supports persons with chronic lung disease including COPD, asthma, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and lung cancer. Families, friends and support persons are welcome to attend. Registration is required. August Topic:  Exercising & Lung Disease
REGISTER HERE
 
TaijiFit
Tuesdays | August 18 – 22 | 10-10:45 AM | $70
This serene workout of continuous flowing movement gently yet effectively works many systems of the body. Based on traditional Tai Chi movements, TaijiFit repeats these movements in succession to build confidence and comfort in Tai Chi. Appropriate for all ages and fitness levels to the Tai Chi experience through the concept of Flow. 
REGISTER HERE
 
NEW - Reopening: How to Go Out & Feel Safe Against COVID-19
Wednesday, August 19 | 1-2 PM | FREE
Many people have been quarantined for months to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now that several businesses are reopening, and people are starting to resume their normal routines and going out more frequently, it’s important to know the best ways to protect yourself while enjoying going out. Tips to prevent the spread, how to gather with people, shop and dine with low risk of getting COVID-19, Reducing the spread of germs around kids and Protecting the most vulnerable population.
REGISTER HERE


                NEW - Be Fast!
Thursday, August 27 | 1-2 PM | FREE
What would you do if your loved one was experiencing a stroke? Do you know the warning signs of a potential brain attack? Every minute counts! Join Mary Rucker, program manager of the NIH Stroke Center at Suburban Hospital, as she details lifesaving strategies from the field so you can B.E. F.A.S.T.
REGISTER HERE


OASIS LIFELONG LEARNING ONLINE PROGRAMMING
ONGOING - Summer Online Classes | Browse catalogue and register at https://washington-metro.oasisnet.org/
Please note that classes are being added on a rolling basis – continue to check the schedule above.
 
 
UPDATED - In addition to Suburban Hospital’s Nutrition and Weight Management classes, your local Giant Food also offers virtual services. Upcoming sessions include:


Virtual Store Tour
Thursday, August 13 | 6:00 PM | FREE
Join Giant's nutritionist for a virtual tour through each section of the store to identify items that can be included in a healthy, balanced diet. You'll also get answers to the top questions we typically get during our store tours, along with dispelling some shopping myths.
REGISTER HERE


Build a Better Breakfast
Tuesday, August 11 | 6:00 PM | FREE
If you’ve got breakfast boredom, we can help! Join us to learn easy ways to make a quick breakfast from scratch, products to consider if you don’t like to cook, and ways to break your fast outside of the traditional cereal box.
REGISTER HERE
              
Nutrition for Fitness Lovers
Tuesday, August 18 | 6:00 PM | FREE
Our new normal has provided new opportunities for staying fit or starting a new movement program. No matter if you are just starting out, a weekend warrior, or a performance athlete, join us for nutrition tips and strategies to fuel your workouts.
REGISTER HERE


For more free content from Giant Food Nutritionists, click here.

Tech Help for You - Now through 8.28Take Advantage of Remote, Free One-on-One Tech Help with Montgomery County COVID-Corps!
now to 28th, 2020

• Get help with your technology (cell phones, computers, tablets, printers, email, Internet, apps, and more)
• Sign up for 30-minute sessions with our tech assistants
• Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM
• Can be conducted via phone or video call
• Available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French, Amharic, and 6 other languages

To sign up, use the link below or call 311.

Sign UpTwo Part Workshop on Anti-Racism for VillagesLast month, eighty villages leaders responded to a survey about their thoughts on racism, identity and how can villages be involved with anti-racism work. The responses spanned a wide gamut and reflected a diversity of views and needs within the village movement in the County. 
As an outcome of this survey, IMPACT of Silver Spring has partnered with me to offer you a two part workshop. Please see their invitation below:
IMPACT Silver Spring, we believe in the power of transforming yourself to transform the world. Join us for a two part workshop on Tuesday, September 8th and Monday, September 14th, 1:00-2:30 p.m.  We’ll introduce you to a framework called Block-Build-Be. You will explore different pathways to effectively work towards anti racist efforts in your community. This workshop is intended for those who want to slow down and take a more holistic approach in addressing racism with an emphasis on the inner awareness needed for outwards action. We have limited capacity so we are limiting it to people who are currently active in their village. Please RSVP by September 1, 2020. 

RegisterMini Conference on Villages in the Time of COVID Tuesday, 9.15.20, 1:00-4:30pmThank you to those who have already registered to the mini-conference on villages in the time of COVID-19. We have confirmed our keynote speaker: 
Dr. K. Eric DeJonge, MD, Executive Director of the MedStar House Call Program and Director of Geriatrics at MedStar Washington. He will review practical recommendations for our villages moving forward.
The mini-conference is free and open to anyone. Please share this invitation with your networks.
If your village has successfully implemented new processes, services, or programs. Please contact me asap so I can assign you to one of the following discussion groups:

• Safety practices
• New perspectives on programming
• Volunteer recruitment strategies 
• Leadership sustainability and recruitment
• Financial concerns
• Communicating and connecting with people who are not online

The schedule for the afternoon is as follows:
1:00-2:00  Keynote speech
2:00-2:15  Break
2:15-3:15  Concurrent breakout sessions (three)
3:15-3:30  Break
3:30-4:30  Concurrent breakout sessions (three)

RegisterDon't Forget: Register to Vote by MailCovid-19 has dramatically impacted our everyday lives and has certainly had an impact on the way we vote. During our primary election in June, the state of Maryland instituted a mail-in voting system, in which over 95% of Marylanders sent their ballots in by mail. For the election on November 3, mail-in ballots will not automatically be mailed to all registered voters.
With the election less than 85 days away, I encourage you to complete your vote-by-mail / absentee ballot application ASAP by following this link:  Maryland State Board of Elections

RegisterWAVE meetings: 8.17.20 and 9.21.20, 10:00-11:30Washington Area Villages Exchange (WAVE)* is planning two excellent meetings. The one on 8.17 will focus on villages' adaptaiton to COVID 19 reality. The one on 9.21 will likely focus on anti-racism. Please RSVP with Cele Garrett.

RSVPCongratulations fo North Bethesda VillageNorth Bethesda Village planning group has become a formal nonprofit organization last month. They are working on offering events and planning their services. COVID-19 did not slow them down! Please let your friends and neighbors who live in the 20852 zip code about this new village.
Read More

This newsletter is produced by Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. Village Coordinator: Pazit Aviv – [email protected]
Visit montgomerycountymd.gov/village for more information.

From Bethesda Metro Area Village:
Authors Karetta Hubbard and Molly Best Tinsley, Tuesday, August 18, 10 am. Hubbard and Tinsley, co-authors of Satan’s Chamber, will talk about researching their spy thriller set in Sudan.
From Potomac Community Village:
This coming week, on Thursday, August 20, at 2 pm, we are offering a program where participants are invited to share one object that has meaning to them and to briefly talk about it (sort of like grown-up Show and Tell).   Free and open to all; those interested are asked to register in advance by contacting the Help Desk at 240-221-1370 or at [email protected] no later than Thursday, August 20 at 11 am, and we will send them the Zoom link.
The following week, we have a program on Wed., August 26, 4 - 5:30 pm, also free and open to all.
Local historian Ralph Buglass will be talking about segregated schools in Montgomery County, prior to the Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954, and what happened in the period after that court decision. Nowadays, we tend to forget that Maryland was very much a Southern state in that time period, and that schools throughout the state were segregated. This program is hosted by Potomac Community Village in a partnership with the Potomac Library.
The county library system notes that for security reasons, this program session will be locked 5 minutes after it begins. Please log in promptly.
Join us in Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/92077641860
Or Dial In: ( 301) 715 8592; Meeting ID: 920 7764 1860
From Friendship Heights Neighbors Village
Monet & More, Monday, August 24, 2:00 pm. France was the center of the art world in the 18th and 19th centuries. The National Gallery has some of its finest works. Estelle Quain, a National Gallery docent and FHNN member, will lead us on a Zoom tour of some of the best from that collection. It will be Estelle’s encore after her American Stories presentation – which received rave reviews. RSVP to [email protected] and include “Monet” in the subject line. We will send you the Zoom link.
From Little Falls Village
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About the FTC But Were Afraid to Ask, with Barry Cutler, former Director of the FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau
DATE: Wednesday, August 26, 1:00 – 2:30 pm Note that this Zoom event will be locked at 1:05 pm, due to library security policy. After the event is locked at 1:05 pm, entry into the event will not be possible. It is therefore important that you log into this event on time.
RSVP: CLICK ON THIS LINK TO REGISTER www.littlefallsvillage.org/FTC This is a new registration process, and is very easy to do, just follow the prompts, including searching for your name if you have registered for a prior LFV Speaker Event. If you have any difficulties with the new registration process, email [email protected] or leave a message at the LFV office (301) 320-3267. When leaving a VM or email, include your email and street address in the message. Please register at least a day prior to the event.
To request Sign Language Interpretation, Closed Caption or other deaf/hard of hearing services for library-sponsored programs, email [email protected] preferably with three business days’ notice.
​

Montgomery County Maryland sent this bulletin at 08/13/2020 01:03 PM EDT
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.
​
Take Advantage of Free One-on-One Tech Help
August 3rd to 28th, 2020

• Get help with your technology (cell phones, computers, tablets, printers, email, Internet, apps, and more)
• Sign up for 30-minute sessions with our tech assistants
• Appointments are available Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM
• Can be conducted via phone or video call
• Available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, French, Amharic, and 6 other languages

To sign up, go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/obp or call 311.
Did You Know…
Low Income Families and Older Adults can get Home Internet Access for as little as $9.95 per month?
Go to https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/obp/low-cost-internet.html for details.
When Connected to the Internet, You Can Have Fun While Staying Safe at Home
Check out the new Thrive at Home webpage: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/thrive.
You can connect to fitness activities, meditation, cooking demonstrations, tours of sights overseas, chances to visit with a pet and much more.
Program airs at the following times: Sunday - (6:00 pm) | Mon - (10:00 am) | Tues - (1:00 am, 12:30 pm, 6:00 pm) | Thurs - (2:30 am, 6:00 pm) | Fri - (10:30 am) | Sat - (2:00 am)  
Where to Watch: Comcast and RCN channel 6; Verizon channel 30; or On-Demand at the County's website by clicking here.  
This newsletter is produced by Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. Visit montgomerycountymd.gov/senior for more information. Or email us at [email protected]