Emergency Preparedness

Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs
The Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) is providing information and support to county tenants who have questions or are facing difficulties.

Hello Landlord
This free tool helps renters write a letter to their landlords explaining that they cannot make their rent payments.

Guide to mortgage relief options
Under the CARES Act, homeowners who have federally-backed mortgages and are struggling financially because of the COVID-19 Emergency can delay making their mortgage payments for up to 360 days.

Hello Lender
This free tool can help homeowners who have certain mortgages and are suffering a financial hardship to write a letter to their mortgage companies asking to pause their mortgage payments.

Food Supplement Program
Maryland’s Food Supplement Program (FSP) helps low-income households buy the food they need for good health. For many people, allotment amounts have been increased for April and May.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP)
D.C.’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly known as Food Stamps) helps individuals and families buy the food they need for good health.

Montgomery County Schools Food Service Resources for Students
Montgomery County public schools are providing meals on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at select public school locations.

Claimant Most Frequently Asked Questions - Unemployment Insurance
Information on Maryland’s unemployment services, including filing for unemployment benefits

DC Stake Employment Resources
The link above goes to the Stake facebook page where tips on job openings are posted.

Department of Employment Services
Information on D.C. unemployment services, including filing for unemployment benefits

DC.gov Food Resources
List of stores with special shopping hours for vulnerable populations.

Benefit Finder
Federal Government Tool to identify what federal benefit you might be eligible for

Accelerated Job Search Program
The Accelerated Job Search (AJS) program offers daily check-ins to receive support from other job seekers. It also offers opportunities to learn from employment experts, sharpen job search skills, and share job leads. Meetings are 60–90 minutes long.

Job Search Skills Workshops
Four key elements of a job search include writing résumés, finding job leads, networking, and preparing for interviews. You can get training on each of these topics by joining one of the workshops.

Ask an Expert
In the Ask an Expert sessions, you can participate in an open forum facilitated by one of our employment professionals. You can come with a question about your own job search, or just listen and get an idea of what other job seekers are experiencing.

Alert Montgomery
Alert Montgomery is the official emergency communications service for Montgomery County, MD. During a major crisis, emergency or severe weather event, Montgomery County officials can send event updates, warnings and instructions directly to you on any of your devices.

FEMA's Emergency Preparedness Tips on Ready.gov
Ready.gov is a national public service advertising (PSA) campaign designed to educate and empower Americans to prepare for and respond to emergencies including natural and man-made disasters. Ready and its Spanish language version Listo ask individuals to do three key things: (1) build an emergency supply kit, (2) make a family emergency plan and (3) be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses.

Montgomery County School Alerts
If your family is comprised of school-aged children, it's a very good policy to be knowledgeable of their school's emergency preparedness plans, especially communication in response. Each school establishes an on-site emergency team (OSET) composed of school administrators and staff who receive basic and enhanced levels of emergency/crisis preparedness training, conducted by the Department of School Safety and Security.

National Child Identification Program
This program provides an easy-to-use ID kit that allows parents to collect specific information by easily recording the physical characteristics and fingerprints of their children on identification cards that are then kept at home by the parent or guardian. If ever needed, this ID Kit will give authorities vital information to assist their efforts to locate a missing child.

Instructions in the event of death
While thinking about dying is not something anyone wants to dwell on, planning ahead by preparing a document with personal information (i.e. bank account numbers, email passwords, insurance policies) will relieve survivors and caregivers of endless hours of frustration and anguish during a time of grief and sadness upon the passing of a loved one. Here is a sample form for such instructions with suggestions for the type of information that should be provided. Completed letters should be kept in a safe place and copies should be given to the relatives who will be in charge at the time of death.

Instrucciones en Caso de Fallecimiento
Mientras pensaba en morir no es algo que nadie quiere pensar en, la planificación anticipada mediante la preparación de un documento con información personal (por ejemplo, números de cuentas bancarias, contraseñas de correo electrónico, pólizas de seguro) aliviará los sobrevivientes y los cuidadores de interminables horas de frustración y angustia durante un tiempo de dolor y la tristeza de la muerte de un ser querido. Este es un modelo de formulario para este tipo de instrucciones con sugerencias para el tipo de información que debe proporcionarse. Cartas completadas deben mantenerse en un lugar seguro y copia se debe dar a los familiares que tendrán a su cargo en el momento de la muerte.