Helping Your Neighbors

The most important thing is to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Stay home and stay 6-feet apart.

Your neighbors need you. This simple toolkit is designed to help you unleash the power of neighbors.

All volunteer needs will be posted to the Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL) website and updated as needs arise. We strongly encourage you to volunteer with existing organizations and activities and follow their guidelines as well as those from the County Health Department.

The County of Marin Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated to support COVID-19 response and Marin Medical Reserve Corps volunteers are supporting our response efforts. The County is gearing up to support medical surge and are accepting new volunteers. At this time, their priority is to accept licensed healthcare professionals: MD, RN, EMT/Paramedic, PA, RT, CNA, etc.

If you are interested in volunteering in Marin County to support our response to COVID-19 and you are a licensed healthcare professional, visit www.marinhhs.org/mmrc.

Questions: MMRC@marincounty.org

There are some ways to check on your neighbors and see if they need help. The best way to do it is by phone, email, text, or if you go to their home, please knock and back up 6 feet before they answer. Follow the safety guidelines above to keep vulnerable people safe. Try to connect people with official resources as much as possible.
NextDoor.com Help Map

Contact volunteer agencies first – please do not show up to help without first making contact. This can sometimes cause organizations to allocate precious resources to help you instead of helping those in need.

Follow these guidelines whenever volunteering so you don’t cause someone to be sick.

1. If you are feeling well and no one else in your home is sick, you can volunteer by signing up online at cvnl.org/covid19help. Volunteering with trusted community organizations is usually the best way to go because they know the correct protocols and how to deal with the specific needs and vulnerabilities of the types of people they serve.
2. If you are feeling well and know there may be a need to check on a neighbor, try giving them a call or texting to keep physical distance.
3. Help everyone stay safe when helping others in person: remember to wash your hands before your visit, do not enter the person’s home, keep a minimum of 6 feet apart, and wash your hands again when you leave. Drop off groceries, prescriptions or other delivered items outside the person’s home. See additional CDC guidelines here: How to protect yourself
4.  In-person visits with neighbors should be only when necessary, and then keep them short and include adults only. Kids should stay home.
5. If your neighbor is an older adult, a person with a disability or illness, or is a family caregiver, give them the County Aging & Adult line at (415) 457-INFO. This taps into valuable services such as transportation, food delivery, and more. Hours are 8:30a-4:30p M-F.
6. If you are feeling sick, anyone in your home is feeling sick, or you have come in contact with anyone you know is sick in the past two weeks please stay home. Your neighbors will thank you for it! This will be a long event and you’ll have opportunities to help again soon.
7. If you live with someone who is in a high risk category, we suggest finding an online volunteer opportunity instead as you could be an asymptomatic carrier and you risk their infection (higher risk categories include people over 65, people with chronic illness, people who are pregnant, etc.). See here: CDC COVID-19: People at higher risk
8. For more information and resources visit www.marinhhs.org.