City Offers At-Home COVID Vaccines to Eligible Detroiters

The City of Detroit is now scheduling at-home vaccinations for any Detroit resident age 12 and up.

The at-home vaccinations are the latest in the City’s ongoing efforts to provide residents with the COVID-19 vaccine.  Those efforts included visiting homeless shelters, senior buildings and other assisted living facilities, as well as providing access for disabled residents and those without their own transportation and doing door-to-door outreach and education.

To schedule an at-home vaccination appointment, call (313) 230-0505.

Coalition launches effort to reduce child poverty in Detroit by connecting families with expanded Child Tax Credit

Nearly 20,000 Detroit children can be lifted out of poverty if every eligible family takes advantage of an expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) through the American Rescue Plan.

The one-year expanded provision of up to $3,600 per child under the age of 18 for qualifying families is available as a monthly payment starting in July — provided they file taxes. Although the tax filing deadline this year was May 17, there is no penalty for filing late if you do not owe taxes or are due a refund. If you do owe taxes, filing sooner will minimize any potential late fees.

To help families take advantage of the one-time windfall, a coalition of organizations has launched an outreach and engagement campaign, led by United Way for Southeastern Michigan, City of Detroit, Community Development Advocates of Detroit, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, Accounting Aid Society, Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, the Kresge and Skillman Foundations, and Ballmer Group.

To learn more about the Child Tax Credit and to get free tax preparation assistance, residents can call 2-1-1 or visit GetTheTaxFacts.org.

Read the news release about the Child Tax Credit.

Detroiters Urged to Enroll in FCC Broadband Program

Eligible Detroit families may qualify for a $50 a month subsidy for Internet access and a one-time $100 subsidy for a device under the FCC’s new Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB).

To date, more than 2.3 million families nationwide and 85,000 individuals in Michigan have enrolled into the program.

Program Description

• Up to $50 / month discount for internet service
• A one-time discount of up to $100 for a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet purchased through a participating internet provider
• The EBB is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per eligible household
• The EBB will last until federal funds run out

Eligibility
Detroit households are eligible if one member of the household:

• Qualifies for the Lifeline program, including those who are on Medicaid or receive SNAP benefits
• Is approved for the free and reduced-price school lunch program or the school breakfast program
• Experienced a substantial loss of income since February 29, 2020, and the household had a total income in 2020 below $99,000 for single filers and $198,000 for joint filers
• Received a Federal Pell Grant in the current award year
• Meets the eligibility criteria for a participating internet service provider’s existing low income or COVID-19 program

For more information, go to https://getemergencybroadband.org or call 313-241-7618.

The City of Detroit, human-IT and other partners recently announced a four-month campaign to help close the digital divide for at least 1,000 low-income families, while creating jobs for Detroiters and reducing electronic waste.

The Empowering Digital Detroit campaign calls on Detroit businesses and individuals to donate used, unwanted, or obsolete technology and electronics. Donations will be assessed for functionality before they’re securely refurbished by a team of local IT professionals, and redistributed back into the community. Technology that can’t be reused will be sustainably recycled, which keeps toxic metals and chemicals away from landfills.

The campaign’s goal is to collect 500,000 pounds of used technology and distribute 1,000 refurbished and updated laptops to low-income Detroit residents by October.

To learn more, visit www.detroitmi.gov/digitaldonations.

Read the news release on Empowering Digital Detroit.

ARPA Survey Now Available By Phone or Online

Huntington Bank Announces $40-Billion Pledge for Small Businesses, Minority and Under-Resourced Communities with New Strategic Community Plan; $1 Billion Pledged for Detroit Area

Read about the plan.

Detroit Police Officers Relaunch Community Closet to Help Those in Need and Continue Building Lifelong Relationships with Citizens

Learn more about DPD Community Closet.