One month since its launch, Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has awarded nearly 90 grants totaling $1,359,500 from its Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund, including several to Newtown nonprofits. Meanwhile, one of the latest high profile victims of the coronavirus is Connecticut's own 2020 Legislative session, which officials announced Tuesday, April 21, would not reconvene.

The Community Foundation’s grants have been made to nonprofit organizations serving Fairfield County’s most vulnerable residents with a primary focus on four key service categories: employment or economic security; mental or physical health; education; and housing.

Newtown's Resiliency Center, which continues to provide virtual services to many local clients and whose founder appeared in a Monday webcast advising local business owners about mitigating stress, is among several local recipients of the Fairfield County COVID-19 Resiliency Fund to help continue its services.

The community's Real Food Share, Inc, which is on target to produce 10,000 pounds of fresh vegetables and fruits this year primarily for the FAITH Food Pantry in cooperation with the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, is also slated to receive proceeds from the fund.

Real Food Share's grant will provide infrastructure support and farm stands at two locations for food pickup and delivery, while the Resiliency Center will apply their grant to support Creative Art Therapy for adults and youth through telehealth services.

Additionally, Newtown Youth and Family Services is receiving funds to support at-home educational kits for 246 local youths.

Several other nonprofits that serve Newtown residents are also beneficiaries of the fund including Ability Beyond, the American Cancer Society's Road to Recovery program, Regional Hospice, and the Women’s Center of Greater Danbury.

At his daily press briefing Tuesday, Governor Ned Lamont announced a new collaboration between Hartford Health and Quest Diagnostics establishing new COVID-19 testing facilities across the state, and putting a mobile testing unit on the road handling locations like correctional facilities, nursing homes, and at locations serving Connecticut's homeless population.

Today, Lamont said the state is administering an average 2,600 tests per day, but this new initiative is expected to add 2,000 more daily test results to the state's capacity. Former Torrington resident Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Quest Diagnostics, said the ability to get the state back to work is predicated on his and other labs to significantly increase capacity and to speed up the delivery of results.

On Tuesday, Newtown's Health District is monitoring 66 active COVID cases locally according to the state Department of Health, and the number of residents lost to the virus is now up to four, according to Director Donna Culbert.

As of April 21, a total of 20,360 cases of COVID-19 have been reported among Connecticut residents with 1,949 patients currently hospitalized, and 1,423 COVID-19-associated deaths. While COVID-19 positive cases are continuing to trend slightly downward in Fairfield County, there are now 8,472 positive cases and 544 deaths reported here.

Regarding the statehouse news, CT Mirror reported Tuesday that Connecticut's House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby and three other caucus leaders jointly announced the 2020 legislative session, suspended last month in deference to the COVID-19 precautions, is over. Its constitutional adjournment deadline was midnight on May 6.

“The 2020 regular legislative session will adjourn without any further action, and we are already working on a plan to convene a special session in the coming months to ensure the continuity of government functions and that any necessary legislative action can be taken,” the leaders said. “Our top priority is the health and safety of the public, and we are committed to continue working in unison to stem this health crisis and do everything possible to protect the Connecticut residents we all represent.”

Second ACLU Suit

The ACLU of Connecticut filed a class-action federal lawsuit late Monday on behalf of the state’s incarcerated population, trying to force the release of inmates to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This is the second lawsuit the group has filed this month to reduce the prison population here. The previous lawsuit, filed in state court, remains ongoing.

The new lawsuit calls on the state to release all incarcerated people age 50 and older — there were 2,983 people behind bars age 46 or older as of April 1 — and those with severe medical conditions that put them at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. The suit’s five incarcerated plaintiffs represent Connecticut’s sentenced and pretrial populations.

Connecticut’s prisons and jails have become hot spots for the virus. As of Monday, 293 inmates and 202 staff have tested positive for COVID-19, a sharp increase from the April 2 numbers, 8 inmates and 16 staff, CT Mirror reported.

Also on Monday, the Connecticut Department of Social Services announced that a second round of emergency food benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) were delivered to nearly 108,000 households. Authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the extra food benefits are being distributed to those households that are not currently receiving the maximum SNAP benefits allowed for their household size.

This means that all households in SNAP are receiving the maximum food benefit allowable for their household size, even if they are not usually eligible for the maximum benefit. For more information, visit www.ct.gov/snap.

Recognizing that artists provide inspiration, connection, and education, particularly at times when the creative sector is needed most, the Connecticut Office of the Arts – a state office housed within the Department of Economic and Community Development – announced Monday that two grant programs have been created to help local artists negatively impacted by COVID-19:

The Connecticut Artists Relief Grant program will provide $500 grants to over 100 individual artists and teaching artists who live in the state and whose creative practices and income are being adversely impacted by the safety measures put into place to prevent the spread of the virus. The grant is partly funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts.

The Connecticut Artists Respond Grant program helps artists translate and present their art virtually. Individual or collaborative artists who create or have created projects that respond to the needs of the times by presenting art activities, classes, or other creative experiences online at no cost to the public will be eligible for $1,000 or $2,000, respectively.

Applications will be accepted for both programs through May 4. For specific questions, artists should contact Tamara Dimitri at tamara.dimitri@ct.gov — and teaching artists should contact Bonnie Koba at bonnie.koba@ct.gov.

The national Actors Fund is also encouraging everyone involved with film, theater, television, music, opera, radio, and dance to learn how The Fund can help them in their time of need, including: emergency financial assistance, help for those in crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, health care and insurance counseling, housing, secondary employment, training services, and more. To learn more or to apply for assistance visit www.actorsfund.org/gethelp.

CARES Grants & Resources

Lastly, on Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Connecticut is receiving $10.1 million of the $955 million in grants coming from the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to help meet the needs of older adults and people with disabilities as communities implement measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

The CARES Act funding to Connecticut includes

$2,260,050 for Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), which will help greater numbers of older adults shelter in place to minimize their exposure to COVID-19. These include personal care assistance, help with household chores and grocery shopping, transportation to essential services (such as grocery stores, banks, or doctors) when necessary, and case management.

$5,424,120 for home-delivered meals for older adults. With this funding, states can also expand “drive-through” or “grab-and-go" meals for older adults who typically would participate in meal programs at community centers and other locations that have been closed due to social distancing measures.

$941,295 for Centers for Independent Living to provide direct and immediate support and services to individuals with disabilities who are experiencing disruptions to their independent, community-based living due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Services will ensure individuals with disabilities have the supports they need to safely stay in their homes or return home after a hospitalization or institutionalization during (and directly after) COVID-19.

$102,050 for nutrition and related services for Native American Programs distributed to tribal organizations located in the state to help provide meals and supportive services directly to Native American elders.

$1,150,105 for the National Family Caregiver Support Program to expand a range of services that help family and informal caregivers provide support for their loved ones at home. These include counseling, respite care, training, and connecting people to information.

$226,005 to support State Long-term Care Ombudsman programs in providing consumer advocacy services for residents of long-term care facilities. Ombudsman programs will seek to expand their virtual presence to residents and their families, and continue to promote the health, safety welfare, and rights of residents in the context of COVID-19.

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including an FAQ, other guidance and resources, and a way to ask questions, Newtown residents are encouraged to visit ct.gov/coronavirus.

The Newtown Bee is continuing to provide and mirror information and messages coming from local and state agencies on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. Newtown residents can get more details by visiting Newtown's own COVID-19 web page: CLICK HERE

Residents can also review all prior COVID-19 updates and follow the newspaper’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages for breaking local and state reports.

Please check in regularly, share, and follow the newspaper’s hyperlocal coverage at newtownbee.com through the remainder of this public health emergency.