This post was written by Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart, Director for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs, Office of Public Engagement

Each week, during the Office of Faith-Based & Interfaith Affairs weekly COVID-19 check-in calls for faith leaders, we compile timely updates and information relevant to faith communities across Philadelphia. We’ve compiled below, key information in this resource guide.

If you’d like to be notified about our weekly faith leader calls, visit phila.gov/covid/faithPHL to sign-up.

Virtual Grief Groups

The Uplift Center for Grieving Children is offering virtual support groups during COVID-19. Visit this link for more information.

A national network of widows, the W Connection, has also moved to online meetings. Contact Susan Gross at as45@comcast.net for information about the local group.

The Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual Disability Services offers support groups specifically for people who have lost a loved one to suicide. The groups are led by trained facilitators who have also survived the loss of a loved one to suicide (peer-to-peer support). 

COVID-19 Care Hotlines

In response to the unique challenges presented by COVID-19 to the people of Pennsylvania, the Keystone Disaster Spiritual Care Network has established a Spiritual Care Call Line to provide appropriate and respectful disaster spiritual care to people of all ages, races, and religions. Learn more about the Spiritual Care Call Line. 

The School District of Philadelphia and Uplift Center for Grieving Children are providing the Philly HopeLine, a resource where District students and families can obtain mental health services. Philly HopeLine offers counseling services for students, parents and guardians and is available by calling or texting 1-833-PHL-HOPE (1-833-745-4673). Clinicians will be available via Philly HopeLine Mondays through Fridays from 12pm-9pm., and holidays, Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm-4pm.

Download a flyer with more information in English or Spanish.

Tell Us How Your Members are Volunteering 

We are working to track emergency response efforts within congregations and connect faith-based organizations to needed resources. 

In an effort to ensure that the City has as much information as possible to request additional support funding from the Federal Government, we are asking houses of worship to track their volunteer hours and number of individuals served.

Please complete this form with information about your congregation or faith-based organization. (If you are already reporting volunteer information to the Mayor’s Office of Civic Engagement and Volunteer Service, feel free to disregard this form.

If you have questions, please email Amanda Gamble, Chief Service Officer, at amanda.gamble@phila.gov. 

Resources from the Partnership Center at the US Department of Health and Human Services

Watch the recording of the Partnership Center’s recent webinar, Mental Health in a Time of COVID-19 Webinar Series: Preparing Leaders to Address the Challenges, and download a copy of the slide deck here.

For a diverse range of responses and resources related to mental health, faith, and COVID-19, check out the Center’s recent resource, “Considering Faith, Community, and Mental Health During the COVID-19 Crisis.”

You can also watch recordings from the Office of Faith-Based & Interfaith Affairs community conversations around loss and grief. 

Our Faith-Based Food Distribution Sites Still Need Congregational Partners!

Can your congregations support food distribution with your time, talent, or treasure? Please carefully review the list of faith-based organizations that are feeding our communities and contact ohs@phila.gov when you are ready and able to donate. We look forward to providing support so that you may collectively meet all of these organization’s needs as they feed Philadelphia’s most vulnerable. As these organizations’ needs are met, we will update and expand this list. 

If you have questions about this effort, please be in touch with us by emailing ohs@phila.gov.

Interested in connecting to what other faith communities are offering during COVID-19?

Interfaith Philadelphia is compiling a COVID-19 Interfaith Resource Guide of the virtual worship services, classes, reflections, best practices, workshops, counseling opportunities, etc. that religious leaders and communities throughout the region are offering amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’d like to have your community’s offerings included, please complete a short survey.  Information collected will help us better understand how faith communities are adapting and how we can support them. Please share this survey with your peers and fellow faith leaders. If you have any questions regarding this survey please contact Chelsea Jackson at cj@interfaithphiladelphia.org.

Graphics with COVID-19 Messaging for Faith Communities

The Office of Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs and the Department of Public Health have collaborated to design shareable graphics with guidance for faith communities during the Stay-at-Home order. The graphics are available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, and Vietnamese. Download them here. 

See the COVID-19 Resource Guide for Women