***COVID-19 UPDATE***

Dear friends and neighbors,

Many of our community members have reached out to our offices regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. We share your concerns as parents and community members.

To respond to this unexpected crisis, the Legislature passed several policies and funded over $200 million investments to increase capacity in hospitals, make it easier to hire health care workers, expand testing and provide vital resources to help small businesses, workers and families.

We are working closely with community leaders and health care officials to ensure that everyone in our community stays healthy and safe. We are all in this together as one Washington.

For health and safety reasons, we and our staff, will be on a remote work schedules through the end of April. At this time Rep. Gregerson’s legislative assistant Sami Bailey has an updated contact number: 253-981-6278. Contact information for Rep. Orwall’s office remains the same.

News on COVID-19 is changing quickly. Stay up to date with the most recent and accurate information with the links below, including where to find public resources, including unemployment, health care, small business support and more. 

WA COVID-19 resources

 

HDC COVID-19 resources

Accessing food during COVID-19

The governor has closed restaurants for the next two weeks, but not because food is the risk. There are plenty of ways to continue to access safe and healthy food, and extra help is available for families that need support getting food on the table.

Free school meals in some school districts. School districts are stepping up to continue to provide free school breakfasts and lunches. Check with your local school district to see if they are providing free meals for kids.

Grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores remain open. As the governor stated on Monday, there is no need to stockpile. Our supply chain remains strong. Practice social distancing and use good hygiene when making essential trips for groceries.

Order takeout and delivery while practicing social distancing. Again, the governor has closed restaurants for the next two weeks to increase social distancing, not because food is the risk. You can still support small businesses by ordering takeout and delivery. Make sure to maintain good social distancing and hygiene while doing so.

Assistance with buying food. If the COVID-19 crisis is creating extra strain on your household budget, you can apply for assistance through various state programs at https://www.washingtonconnection.org/home/.

Food banks remain open. Food banks continue to provide assistance to families and are instituting increased social distancing and hygiene practices. For any questions about hours or practices, please contact your local food bank directly. If you are healthy and able to give time, consider volunteering.

Cooking at home. For those cooking at home, handle food with the same care that you usually would. Wash your hands. Only handle food when healthy. People who are coughing, feverish, short of breath, or otherwise sick should stay out of the kitchen.

Stop the spread: get counted in the census online

The 2020 Census will determine how billions of dollars in public funding for roads, public health and schools are spent, and how we are represented politically for the next decade. While the COVID-19 pandemic has made traditional person-to-person outreach more challenging, there are still ways you can get counted in the census while still practicing social distancing.

Between March 12 – 20, households all over the country will receive initial invitations in the mail to get counted in the census. Once you have received that invitation, which includes a 12-digit CensusID code needed for completion, the Census Bureau is encouraging responses be submitted online at my2020census.gov. The online form should only take around ten minutes to complete in full.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our offices for assistance. We are all in this together.

Sincerely,

Rep. Mia Gregerson & Rep. Tina Orwall