THE WHEELER REPORT

Issue 3 Wednesday, March 25, 2020 Prince William County

Dear Neighbors, Life as we know it has changed. Our daily routines have suddenly been detoured onto unknown roads without the benefit of a roadmap. Disruption on this level is at best difficult - at worse devastating. So I'm devoting this issue to providing you with some tools to help you and your families chart a course t hrough this unfamiliar territory. Please take a few minutes to learn about taking care of your mental health, tools to help with staying at home, best practices for home schooling, how to occupy the rest of the day, tips on teleworking and avoiding scams. In Service, Chair Ann Wheeler

Coping in Times of Disruption and Uncertainty

Spotlight on Mental Health

Understandably, currently there is intensive focus on physical and financial health. Yet, it is important to recongnize the impact the global pandemic can have on your mental health. The CDC Manage Anxiety and Stress provides a variety of resources on recognizing and addressing mental health issues in yourself and others. They include information for specific groups such as parents and first responders. The World Health Organization (WHO) Mental Health Considerations During COVID-19 is another great resource to help you through these challenging times. University of Virginia (UVA) How to Protect Your Mental Health During a Quarantine focuses on dealing with the challenges of isolation.

Take Action: Should you, or someone you know, show signs of mental health struggles there is help: In a mental health crisis call 911 Contact your doctor Call Prince William County Community Services for mental health at 703-792-4900 Use the ACTION in Community Through Service (ACTS) Crisis Help Line 703-368-4141 Get help from The Department of Health and Human Services Mental Health Speak to someone in your faith community Reach out to a friend if you need support to take action

Tools for Being Homebound Staying at home can stop the spread, but it requires new ways to go about our lives. The are things you can do to help you get through this time: The Lily has pulled together a Coronavirus Coping Kit Psychology Today provides Things to do When You're Mostly Housebound Patch complied a Stay-At-Home Survival Guide in America: Food Delivery and More If you start to feel overwhelmed CNN has Parenting Through the Coronavirus Lockdown

Learning At Home

Homeschooling Tips The vast majority of us have no experience homeschooling. Fortunately, there are resources to help you be successful. Good Housekeeping How to Homeschool During the Coronavirus provides easy to incorporate tips and breaks them down by elementary, middle and high students. CNN reached out to parents, teachers and homeschooling experts and pulled their expertise together in the How 'Regular School' Parents Can Homeschool Their Kids . Outschool offers live online resources for educators, families and learners ages 3 through 18. Engaging Educational Opportunities Learning doesn't just come for a sylabus. Incorporate some fun educational time into your day. The Smithsonian Learning Lab is an interactive website for discovering authentic resources, creating content, and sharing in the Smithsonian's expansive community of knowledge and learning. National Geographic Kids is full of free content for discovering our world of nature. To keep it interesting they utilize a variety of tools like videos, games and quizzes.   Don't forget the arts! Broadway HD has 100s of broadway shows and are offering a one week free trail.

When "Class" is Dismissed Staying home for an unusally extended period of time isn't commonplace for most of us, so here are ideas on filling the hours. At USA Today you'll find 100 Things to Do While Stuck Inside Due to the Coronavirus. For more ideas check out Parade's 125 Things to Keep Kids Entertained During the Coronavirus.

Tips for Working at Home For those being asked to work in new ways, set yourself up for success by learning some best practices: In Entrepreneur's Work in the Time of Coronovirus you can learn from telework pros BBC shares advice in Coronavirus: How to Work From Home the Right Way. Patch offers 12 Essential Work-From Home Tips While Waiting Out Coronavirus If you have children at home with you, CNBC provides 9 Ways to Cope with kids underfoot while working.

Don't Be Taken Advantage Of Sadly there are people and organizations looking to take advantage of others during this crisis. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) provides advice how to protect yourself. Avoid Coronavirus Scams and Coronavirus Scams Part 2 offers valuable information to protect yourself and your family. Should you come across suspicious activity related to Coronavirus report it through FTC Complaint . Also report suspicious activity to the Prince William County Police Department by calling 911 for emergencies and 703-792-6500 for non-emergencies.

Ann B. Wheeler was elected Chair At-Large of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors during the 2019 General Election and assumed office on January 1, 2020. Prince William County is located 25 miles south of Washington, D.C., and is the Commonwealth of Virginia’s second-most populous county with approximately 469,000 residents.