Tennessee Statewide Resources

 

Let us know how COVID-19 is impacting your community, what help you need, or what resources you know about or can provide.

Food Assistance

  • To apply for emergency food stamps, please see instructions here. For more information on eligibility, please click here. More information on nutritional assistance is available here

  • A list of food banks across Tennessee is available here

  • If you want to volunteer or donate to food assistance please visit Second Harvest Food Banks

  • For an interactive map of sites serving meals to children while schools are closed please click here

Economic Assistance

  • Tennessee Utilities:

  • National Utilities:

    • As of March 13, Comcast will not disconnect broadband, WiFi, or phone services due to non-payment for 60 days for customers affected by the coronavirus. Subscribers may contact Comcast to explain their current economic situation and avoid late fees.

    • As of March 13, AT&T will not disconnect broadband, WiFi, or phones for non-payment for 60 days, and will also waive late fees for subscribers economically impacted by the coronavirus.

    • As of March 16, Verizon Wireless not disconnect service for 60 days for customers impacted by the coronavirus. Verizon will also waive late fees for those affected.

    • As of March 13, Sprint will not disconnect service for 60 days for customers impacted by the coronavirus. Sprint will also waive late fees for those affected.

    • As for March `13, T Mobile will provide all customers with data plans unlimited data and an additional 20GB of mobile hotspot service for 60 days. T Mobile will also increase data allowances to students and schools using EmpowerED digital learning programs.

    • As for March 16, Spectrum will not terminate service or charge late fees for 60 days for customers facing economic difficulties due to the coronavirus. They are also opening all WiFi hotspots for public use

  • Credit card companies and banks:

    • A guide to different credit card companies and COVID-19 relief policies is available here

    • Ally Bank customers will not be charged for the following through July 16:

      • Overdraft fees

      • Excessive transaction fees

      • Expedited check & debit card fees

      • More homeowners, Ally Bank is allowing customers to defer payments for 120 days

    • American Express asks customers to contact them directly if you are experiencing financial hardship due to the coronavirus. On a case-by-case basis, the company is working to:

      • Temporarily lower interest rates

      • Waive late payment fees, both for credit card and mortgage payments

      • Lower monthly payments

    • Apple Card users can contact support to enroll in Apple’s Customer Assistance program. This will help customers skip their March payments without incurring interest charges. Requests can be submitted through your Wallet App or your iPhone online.

    • Bank of America asks customers to contact them if they are suffering financial hardship due to the coronavirus. Customers may get help by:

      • Elimination or forgiveness of monthly maintenance, overdraft, late payment, and minimum balance fees

      • Waived interest charges

      • Increased credit limits

    • Capitol One asks customers to contact them if they are suffering financial hardship due to the coronavirus. They will work with customers to:

      • Lower or eliminate fees

      • Defer payments

      • Lower interest rates

    • Chase asks customers to contact them if they are suffering financial hardship due to the coronavirus. They can help to:

      • Waive service fees

      • Increase credit limits

      • Changing due dates for payments

    • Citibank asks customers to contact them if they are suffering financial hardship due to the coronavirus. Citibank can assist customers with:

      • Fee waivers for early CD withdrawal

      • Monthly service fee waivers

      • Credit line increases

      • Assistance for those that cannot make minimum payments

    • Truist asks customers to contact them if they are suffering financial hardship due to the coronavirus. They can help customers with:

      • Payment relief assistance for mortgage, consumer, business, or personal loans

      • Personal and business loans

      • Temporarily waiving ATM fees

      • Providing 5% cashback when BB&T and SunTrust credit card holders use their card for qualifying purchases at grocery stores and pharmacies through April 15

    • Wells Fargo asks customers to contact them if they are suffering financial hardship due to the coronavirus. Wells Fargo can help with:

      • Fee waivers, late payments, overdraft and minimum balance fees

      • Payment deferral

      • Increasing credit card limits

  • Housing

    • Tennessee is currently suspending in-person court proceedings. This includes eviction cases. The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled to postpone evictions until May 6, 2020.

    • If you have been impacted by the coronavirus, contact your lender to work out a payment plan. Homeowners can qualify for up to 12 months of reduced or suspended mortgage payments

    • For borrowers with loans from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Federal Housing Administration, the federal government has put forward a nationwide ban on evictions and foreclosures and will grant payment extensions from three to twelve months. For more information, see federal guidelines

  • Vehicle Payments

    • Ford and its US dealers are offering customers impacted by the coronavirus six months of payment relief for new-car buyers who finance their purchases through Ford Credit. For will pay for three months and customers can defer for up to three more months. The program is for people purchasing 2019 and 2020 year model vehicles, with the exception of 2020 Super Duty trucks.

    • Nissan is offering payment extensions based on each customer’s current situation. For more information, call 1-800-456622 M-F from 7 am - 7 pm and Saturday 9 am - 2 pm CST

    • Toyota is offering payment relief options on a case by case basis. For more information, call 800-874-8822 M-F from 8 am - 5 pm.

    • General Motors is automatically late fees for loan and lease payments from March 1 - April 30. If you lease a vehicle, GM will automatically allow a one-month extension if they don’t hear from you by ten days after the original lease termination date

    • Hyundai is offering o% APR financing and three months of deferred payments on select new Hyundai vehicles through April 30. They are also covering six months of payments for Hyundai owners who purchased or leased a vehicle from March 14 - April 30 if they lose their job to COVID-19 this year. Current owners may be eligible for three months of deferred payments

    • Genesis is offering six months of car payments for new Genesis vehicles to customers who lose their jobs due to COVID-19 and 90 days of deferred payments for customers who financed through Genesis

  • Vehicle Insurance

    • American Family Insurance is offering auto insurance payment relief by providing a one-time $50 payment to customers for each personal automobile insured with the company

    • Allstate is offering customers an average of 15% back on their April and May car insurance payments. Customers economically impacted by the coronavirus may also apply for a special payment plan to delay payments for 60 days with no penalty

    • Veterans may qualify for savings on auto insurance, please see guide here

  • General Economic Assistance:

    • As of March 26, families can begin applying online for up to two months of emergency cash assistance if they have lost they were employed as of March 11 and have lost either employment of at least 50% of their earned income due to COVID-19. For more information, please click here

    • The Tennessee Talent Exchange is a new initiative to help people find work in grocery stores, retail, and logistical industries right now. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is helping to transition workers from one industry in need of employment to job opportunities in other industries in need of an expanded workforce. Please apply here

    • For employers, the Paycheck Protection Program provides eight weeks of assistance to small businesses that continue to pay their employees. For more information and links to apply for assistance, please click here

    • Small business owners who need support can apply for loans from the Small Business Association beginning April 3, and on April 10 independent contractors and self-employed individuals can apply as well. Visit the SBA website for more information on applying and qualifying for these loans

    • Andrew Yang’s new organization Humanity Forward is offering to help people with direct cash payments or other economic assistance as needed

      • To apply for direct cash payments, please apply here

      • To apply for other assistance, please apply here

    • Check the status of your stimulus check here

    • Student loan borrowers are now allowed to put off paying their federal student loan payments without penalty until September 30. Collection on defaulted debts has also been suspended, including wage and tax refund garnishment. For more information, please click here

    • For information about paid leave available through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, please see a summary here

    • Applications for unemployment assistance can be accessed here

    • Appalachian Highlands Economic Aid Directory (AHEAD) is providing information on COVID-19, aid and information for small businesses, and help groceries and other items for families. Please see their website here

    • Unfortunately, bad actors are taking advantage of the coronavirus to try and scam people across Tennessee and the nation. See tips on how to protect yourself here

    • OneSupport is offering work-at-home customer service jobs

Safety & Support

  • The Center for Disease Control has the following tips for cleaning and supplying your home here

  • East Tennessee news and updates for local counties and cities is available here

  • Governor Lee’s Executive Order 23 issued on April 2 invoked a stay at home order. The order requires people in Tennessee to stay at home unless engaging in an “essential activity” or “service”. This means people can leave home for activities such as grocery shopping, food pick-up and delivery, and seeking medical care. Governor Lee has now extended this order through the end of April

Healthcare

  • For coronavirus information, please call the Tennessee Department of Health hotline at 877-857-2945
    Daily updates are also available at 2 pm here

  • See testing centers across the state in this interactive map

  • Information concerning the coronavirus, advice, treatment, and community resources is available at the CDC website

  • If you have questions or concerns about the coronavirus, screening, and safety measures, please reach
    out to the Ballad Health Nurse Contact line, which is active 24/7 at 833-822-5523

  • In addition to the hotline, Ballad Health is also posting COVID-19 information here

Childcare

  • Amazon is currently making family-friendly Prime movies and TV shows free to all viewers. More information and names of content available, please click here

  • The Sr. Jude Hospital has created a downloadable coloring book that teaches children about the coronavirus

  • Dolly Parton launched “Goodnight With Dolly” on April 2. This is a weekly read-aloud series featuring several of the Imagination Libraries books, which Dolly hopes can provide comport and reassurance to kids and families during the shelter in place mandates

  • Disney has content, including a new Frozen series, “At Home With Olaf,” here

Educational Assistance

  • For updates on school closures please see WATE list here

  • The Tennessee Department of Education and the Governor’s Early Learning Foundation are partnering with the Ready Rosie online learning platform from April 1 - September 1. The platform provides short videos as well as educational resources for children in the third grade and younger

  • For students enrolled in any grade, from Pre-K through 12, students enrolled in college, and teachers: if you do not have internet access at home, Spectrum Internet is offering free internet and WiFi services for 60 days. For more information, please call (855) 243-8892 or visit their website here

  • Resources and online lessons for elementary school students and teachers are available here

  • Math lessons for students in the 1st through 6th grades are available here

  • Science lessons and videos for elementary school students are available here

  • Biology lessons and simulations geared towards 9th grade students are available here

  • A list of a variety of educational resources, covering all grade levels and learning subjects, is available here

  • Free K-12 virtual courses through Varsity Tutors

  • Online courses are available at Khan Academy

Mental Health & Comfort

  • The Center for Disease Control has tips for managing stress due to the coronavirus. To see more information, please visit their site here

  • Vibrant Emotional Health’s Safe Space provides interactive coping tools to help users when they need it

  • The following organizations provide 24/7 mental health support for those who need it

    • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK

    • Tennessee Statewide Crisis Line: 855-CRISIS-1 (855-274-7471)

    • Text TN to 741 741

    • Get mental health support by online chat here

  • The following organizations provide 24/7 crisis response services:

    • Cherokee Health Systems (adults): 800-826-6881 or (855) 602-1082

    • Helen Ross McNabb Center (all ages): (865) 539-2409

    • Ridgeview (adults): (865) 481-6175 or 800-870-5481

    • Youth Villages (ages 5-17): (866) 791-9224

  •  See tips for social distancing, quarantine and isolation during an infectious disease outbreak here

  • Read some creative tips on ways to connect with your community while social distancing here

  • USA Today “100 Things to Do While Stuck Inside Due to a Pandemic”

  • The Social Distancing Festival has streamed concerts, events, art and community boards available here

  • The Metropolitan Opera is offering a nightly opera stream, available here

  • Take a virtual tour!

  • Free NFL game pass

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