COVID-19 Telephone Resources
- Shawnee County General Questions and Rumor Control 1-785-251-4848
- Shawnee County Community Care Line 1-800-972-8199
- Shawnee County Mental Health Crisis Line Valeo (ages 18+) Open 24/7 1-785-234-3300
- Shawnee County Mental Health Crisis Line FSGC (17 & under) Open 24/7 1-785-232-5005
- United Way 211 – Dial 211 from any phone to speak with a referral specialist 24 hours a day about COVID-19 or any other service needs you may have. Available in English and Spanish. 211
COVID-19 Information
Shawnee County
- Shawnee County Health Department COVID-19 Information including Shawnee County Health Department COVID-19 Symptoms Self-Report Form
- Shawnee County Health Department COVID-19 Dashboard (desktop) (mobile)
- Stormont Vail Health COVID-19 News and Information updated weekdays, including COVID-19 hospitalization data and ICU/ventilator use.
- Shawnee County COVID-19 Updates Facebook page This is the official Facebook page for COVID-19 updates in Topeka and Shawnee County, Kansas. This page is being managed by local private and public health organizations, public safety agencies and government agencies.
- SNCO COVID-19 Rumor Control Task Force Rumors and misinformation can be destructive and can even cause harmful behaviors that increase personal and public health risks. This page fact-checks local Shawnee County rumors and cites sources for accurate information.
State
- Kansas COVID-19 Response and Recovery: Your source for community, family, mental, financial, & economic health.
- KDHE COVID-19 Dashboard summarizing confirmed cases, total tested, total deaths and demographic breakdowns. Use the pulldown menu for county level data, including Shawnee County.
National
- CDC COVID-19 Information
- Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades Recursos para COVID-19 / Spanish Language CDC Resources for COVID-19
- Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) includes interactive data map. Select a country for more detailed breakdown of data, including United States.
- COVID-Explained presents current information in plain language and includes a glossary, from a team of researchers and students at Brown, MIT, Harvard, Mass General and elsewhere including Emily Oster and Galit Alter.
Resources for Food and Assistance
Shawnee County Community Cares Line
Members of the community can call the line at 1-800-972-8199 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm to be connected with a trusted community volunteer during times of social distancing. The Shawnee County Community Cares Line is not a crisis line, but simply a line to create connections and friendly conversations. Callers will find a listening ear to help feel reconnected to others.
United Way Resources
Dial 211 from any phone to speak with a referral specialist 24 hours a day about COVID-19 or any other service needs you may have. Available in English and Spanish.
Community Action Resources
Community Action Responding to COVID-19 including the CAPFED® COMMUNITY CARE STATION
School District Resources
Volunteering
United Way Volunteer (many organizations listing opportunities)
Stormont We Together (including mask making guidelines)
WiFi Access
WiFi Access at the library, bookmobiles, community centers and other locations.
Local News
Online Newspaper Access with your library card
Kansas Recovery Resources
Kansas COVID-19 Response and Recovery is your source for community, family, mental, financial and economic health.
Jobs
Local Jobs Available Now Explore Shawnee County region employers that are hiring now, updated for COVID-19, including filing unemployment and resume help
Legal
Legal Resources *some services may have limited availability during COVID-19
Taxes
Tax Forms & Assistance (updated for COVID-19)
Small Business
Kansas (Financial Assistance and Guidance)
Kansas Small Business Development Center Covid-19 Resources
National Small Business Administration (Loan Resources and Guidance)
U.S. Small Business Administration Covid-19 Resources
Disaster Loan Applications
U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Application
Lissa Staley
Lissa Staley helps people use the library. She is a Book Evangelist, Trivia Emcee, Classics Made Modern book discussion leader, NaNoWriMo Municipal Liaison, and frequent library customer. She loves her kids, being a librarian, living in Topeka, and helping people form connections and community. (She's the Community Connections Librarian!) She reads a new book every few days, but is enjoying the audiobook of "Empress of Forever" by Max Gladstone, the ebook "When We Were Magic" by Sarah Gailey and is eagerly awaiting John Scalzi's "The Last Emperox" in April!