Funding from City of San Jose

 The pandemic has created hardships for many local people and small businesses.  To help, the City of San José is offering several programs funded through the Federal Coronavirus Relief Funds.  The resident survey and community leaders forums provided valuable insights that guided our funding recommendations. We are grateful for all who participated. The Community and Economic Recovery Branch will be presenting recommendations to expand childcare opportunities, utility and rental relief as well as community health engagement in neighborhoods most impacted by COVID19. These recommendations and updated spending plan are being considered by the City Council (Item 3.7) on Tuesday September 22, 2020. Please join us if you’re available. 

 

Learning Pods – R.O.C.K n’ Learn   

Recognizing the many learning challenges caused by school closures, the City of San José is opening learning pods at several Library and Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Community Centers.  The pods are for students Kindergarten through 8^th grade and operate from 8:00 – 6:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. CDC and local health and safety measures are followed, and the pods provide children with a safe, quiet space to complete distance learning and have a little fun.   

   

For health and safety, the groups must remain the same for at least 3 weeks at a time. To place a student in a pod, parents can contact their school which will then refer students for placement. New pods are formed weekly as groups of five students are referred.  Families can get questions answered by emailing  expandedlearningservices@sjlibrary.org.   

  

The library provides personal headphones and internet access; students bring their own school-issued device.   

  

The first three sessions are free and the City is working to fully fund this thru December 31.    

   

For more information including costs and scholarships, see this flyer.  

  

WEX (Work Experience)   

This City program supports lower-income job seekers who lost jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic. The program matches workers with job opportunities at local companies for up to 10 weeks (up to 40 hours per week). The program fully covers wages (up to $20 per hour) as well as funds supportive services for participants such as rental assistance, utilities, childcare, transportation, food, household goods and toiletries, and appropriate clothing, as needed.    

Designed for people who lost employment mostly in food services, the program exposes participants to new occupations and allows them to learn new skills on the job though there is no guarantee of employment after the placement. To minimize the impact to participating companies, participants are placed through a third-party employer which will take care of payroll, etc.      

  

Occupational Upskilling Sessions  

To help residents prepare for new professions, the City is also offering “Occupational Upskilling Sessions” in the following fields:  

·        medical assisting  

·        home health care  

·        help desk  

·        HVAC  

·        machinist  

·        security  

·        and more  

       To qualify for these programs, participants need to be:⠀  

• residents of the city of San Jose  

• have lost hours or a job due to COVID-19  

• legally able to work in the United States⠀⠀⠀⠀  

• 18 years of age or older  

  

To sign up, people can go to the San Jose CARES WEX  web page and complete the Job Seeker Form.   

 

Employers who are interested in participating as an employer contact Lawrence Thoo, Work2future Strategic Engagement Manager.  

 

San José Coronavirus Relief Fund: NONPROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.  

This relief grant program is intended to help mitigate COVID-19 related financial impacts by reimbursing San Jose nonprofit arts and cultural organizations for specific and documentable expenses and income losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Totaling $2,120,000, this fund is part of the federal funding received by the City through the federal CARES Act and carries certain use restrictions that are specified in the guidelines.  The expedited relief grant process will be managed by the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA), with grant disbursement handled by a third party. 

For complete details, including Guidelines, Application Form, FAQs, and link to the WebGrants portal, please click here.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  Tuesday, September 29 at 5:00 PM 

 

San José Coronavirus Relief Fund: Artists, a program offered in partnership between the City of San José Office of Cultural Affairs and the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI). The City of San José Coronavirus Relief Fund: Artists (San José Fund) is distributing $208,000 in the form of grants up to $2,000 to help mitigate COVID-19 related financial impacts suffered by individual artists and sole proprietor arts businesses. San José Fund is a reimbursement-based fund made possible by federal funding resulting from the United States CARES Act, which was allocated by the State of California to the City of San José.  

 

For complete details, including Guidelines, FAQs, and link to the application, please click here.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  Tuesday, September 29 at 5 pm PDT. Applicants will be notified by October 16.