LAKE COUNTY
Lake Family Resources Center begins telehealth for essential workers
Thanks to a $5,000 matching grant from Redwood Credit Union, next month, Lake Family Resource Center will begin offering Telehealth Behavioral Therapy to essential workers.
“We’re deeply grateful to Redwood Credit Union for providing the seed money to allow us to pivot quickly during the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to offer virtual trauma-related services to our essential workers,” said Executive Director Lisa Morrow.
Anyone deemed an essential worker will benefit from the HIPPA-approved telehealth services including medical professionals, law enforcement personnel, grocery store workers, government employees, restaurant staff, etc.
With this new service, Lake FRC anticipates serving 20% more clients with a modality that will continue after shelter in place has lifted. “Telehealth will be part of our new normal,” says Morrow. “Many clients are more comfortable virtually, and it has the advantage of being more accessible, especially to those lacking reliable transportation.”
Lake FRC has been providing trauma-related counseling services since its inception, most often to victims of domestic violence, sexual and child abuse. However, Lake FRC has responded to community need before. After the Valley Fire, it offered trauma counseling to fire survivors and continues to offer services to all victims of subsequent wildfires. “Our therapists are trained in all aspects of trauma regardless of what caused it to manifest,” says Morrow. “Helping residents work through trauma benefits the individual and our community as a whole.”
Lake FRC is currently undertaking a matching gift campaign to turn RCU’s $5,000 donation into $10,000 or more. “Quite simply, the more funds we have, the more services we provide, the more people we help, and the stronger our community will be,” says Morrow.
Lake FRC has been serving Lake County families since 1995 to achieve safe, sustainable, healthy families and community. A 501c3 nonprofit organization, most services are provided at no cost and are funded through government grants and community donations. Lake FRC serves approximately 1,400 families and 4,500 individuals each year.
If you are interested in learning more about the program or in making a contribution to Lake FRC, please call (707) 279-0563 or log onto lakefrc.org.
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WASHINGTON D.C.
U.S. Department of Transportation makes available $311.8 Million for capital rail projects
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) today for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.
“We’re committed to addressing the unmet transportation needs of rural areas, which face unique challenges in safety, infrastructure condition, and passenger and freight usage,” said FRA Administrator Ronald L. Batory. “I encourage all eligible parties to take full advantage of this funding opportunity.”
With funding provided in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, this NOFO will fund up to $311.8 million in freight and passenger rail projects that improve transportation safety, efficiency, and reliability as authorized under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. Eligible applications for competitive selection include projects that address congestion challenges, highway-rail grade crossings, upgrade short line or regional railroad infrastructure, relocate rail lines, improve intercity passenger rail capital assets, and deploy railroad safety technology.
The CRISI grant program also directs investment to rural America, with at least 25 percent of available funds reserved for projects in rural communities.
FRA will consider how projects support key objectives, including enhancing economic vitality; leveraging federal funding; adopting life-cycle accounting; using innovative approaches to improve safety and expedite project delivery; and holding grantees accountable for achieving specific, measurable outcomes. Preference will be given to projects where the proposed federal share of total costs does not exceed 50 percent.
FRA may also consider geographic diversity; diversity in the size of the systems receiving funding; the applicant’s receipt of other competitive awards; and projects located in, or that support transportation service in, qualified opportunity zones.
In addition, $45 million of the $311.8 million is available for projects eligible under 49 U.S.C. 22907(c)(2) that require the acquisition of rights-of-way, track, or track structure to support developing new intercity passenger rail service routes.
Applications for funding under this NOFO are due 60 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register. Following publication, FRA will offer web-based training and technical assistance for eligible applicants. For more details about the CRISI program, visit FRA’s Competitive Discretionary Grant Program webpage. To view the NOFO, visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/20/2020-08226/funding-opportunity-consolidated-rail-infrastructure-and-safety-improvements
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