Santa Ana rolls out coronavirus help to neighborhoods

For Santa Ana residents who can’t get to Covid-19 resources, free tests, face masks and other help are coming straight to them.

City officials have deployed a mobile resources center that visits at least one neighborhood every day, Monday through Friday, offering an array of services. They’ve also kicked off a series of visits at parks, with the next one scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14, at Memorial Park.

“We wanted to bring resources to the people who need it the most,” said city spokesman Paul Eakins.

The city received $28.6 million of federal money via the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act.  Nearly $6 million of those funds were set aside for a Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center.

Santa Ana is the hardest hit city in Orange County, with 2,877 cases per 100,000 residents, compared to the county’s overall rate of 1,568 cases per 100,000 residents.  In all, the city has documented 9,717 coronavirus cases as of Friday.

“Ambassadors” visit neighborhoods and drop off door hangers to alert residents that a mobile resource center will be near them the following day.

“We target specific neighborhoods, where we know there’s dense housing and people may not have access to vehicles for drive-through testing, or they may not have Internet to set up the tests,” Eakins said.

When the mobile resource center arrives, workers set up tents and open for business. They offer free Covid-19 tests, face masks, (including a black cloth face covering with the city’s logo,) and information about resources, such as rental and utility payment assistance available to Santa Ana residents.

The city has visited 28 neighborhoods, so far dropping off 15,715 door hangers to alert residents of the pending visits and what’s being offered. As of Friday, city employees have given out almost 18,000 care kits containing masks and hand sanitizer, along with a 12-page guide listing pandemic-related services and other information in English and Spanish. And nearly 2,200 residents have received free tests – either through the mobile center or at Santa Ana College, which also is offering free drive-up testing by appointment or walk-up testing on a limited basis.

Last month, city officials launched a CARES initiative to provide health and financial assistance to residents as well as businesses and non-profits affected by the pandemic. It features $8 million in potential aid, which includes $1,500 rental assistance grants for tenants and money to help landlords who are owed back rent to April 1. (The city would pay qualifying landlords 80 % of the monthly rent owed to them if they agree to forgive the remaining 20%, not assess late fees on their tenants, or increase rent for a specified period.)

Another program under the initiative offers free hotel stays for residents who are living with a Covid-19 positive relative in an effort to give families some space and decrease the likelihood of spreading the disease.

  • Santa Ana resident Sergio Mejia, 24, uses a nasal swab to obtain a sample for a free COVID-19 test provided by the Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. Mejia said the COVID-19 test was a requirement for a job he was applying for. The Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana residents visit information booths during a Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. The Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  • Medical assistant Javier Lara, top, guides a woman on the use of a nasal swab to obtain a sample for a free COVID-19 test provided by the Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. The Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • The smoke filled skies caused by brush fires casts a yellow haze over the baseball field at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 as medical assistants working with Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center register Santa Ana residents for free COVID-19 tests. The mobile resource center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana resident Sergio Mejia, 24, left, gets instruction from medical assistant Hazin Nguyen on using a nasal swab to obtain a sample for a free COVID-19 test provided by the Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. The Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana residents use nasal swabs to obtain a sample for a free COVID-19 test provided by the Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. The mobile resource center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana residents lineup on the baseball field at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 to get free COVID-19 tests during the Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park. The mobile resource center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Medical assistants working with Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center register Santa Ana residents for free COVID-19 tests at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. The mobile resource center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Santa Ana residents, left, get instruction from medical assistants Hazin Nguyen, center, and Javier Lara, right, on how use nasal swabs to obtain a sample for a free COVID-19 test provided by the Santa Ana CARES Mobile Resource Center at Madison Park in Santa Ana on Wednesday, September 9, 2020. The mobile resource center will be visiting 11 Santa Ana parks during September and October offering Santa Ana residents free COVID-19 tests, resource information, rental assistance information, and free masks. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Meanwhile, the mobile resource center began visiting local parks on Sept. 9, with late afternoon stops that offer residents who work during the day a chance to get free tests and check out what help is available.  Following the Sept. 14 at Memorial Park, 2102 S. Flower St., the next stops will be:

-Sept. 16, Delhi Park, 2314 S. Halladay St.

-Sept. 21, El Salvador Park, 1825 W. Civic Center Dr.

-Sept. 23, Rosita Park, 706 N. Newhope St.

-Sept. 28, Pacific Electric Park, 401 E. McFadden Ave.

-Sept. 30, Windsor Park, 2915 W. LaVerne Ave.

-Oct. 5, Mabury Park, 1801 E. Fruit St.

-Oct. 7, Cesar Chavez Campesino Park, 3311 W. Fifth St.

-Oct. 12, Prentice Park, 1801 E. Chestnut Ave.

-Oct. 14, Little King Park, 500 W. Alton Ave.

The stop at Pacific Electric Park will be from 12:30 to 7 p.m. All other park visits are scheduled from 4 to 7 p.m.

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