STORY CITY, Iowa — The virtual outreach program COVID Recovery Iowa was funded out of a $1 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The purpose was to assist anyone impacted by the coronavirus to get the assistance they need.
Robyn Anderson, social media liaison with the program, said they want to make sure their services reach more people than they have before.
The services COVID Recovery Iowa offers are free counseling sessions and assistance pointing Iowans in the direction to get the resources they need.
The sessions can be held through text, by a phone call or virtual face-to-face.
"They have contracted with Heartland Family Service and Pathways [for counseling sessions]," Anderson said. "They're all qualified."
She also mentioned they are in the process of making their pages more engaging to visitors.
When people search through their content on social media, the program wants residents to see a post that resonates with them.
"Give them ideas of why they should call if they're suffering from food [in]security, substance use or domestic violence," Anderson said. "Or, if they're just lonely. Just to try to give them a message."
Anderson noted there are about 20 groups people can join on the COVID Recovery Iowa Facebook Page.
She said each has tips to help individuals cope during this pandemic, as well as a way to reach out to peers that could be dealing with the same issues.
Anderson said the program is using music to help spread the message of what they can offer the public.
Each Sunday, known as Month of Sundays, a performer records a clip of themselves playing music or singing and it gets posted to COVID Recovery Iowa's Facebook page.
It is always paired with a few paragraphs written by Anderson.
The paragraphs explain a few details about the artists and then goes into how COVID Recovery Iowa could be a beneficial resource to people in need.
Anderson said she hopes the music speaks to anyone listening and gives them a sense of peace during this crazy time.
"Music has healing properties to it, and I've always thought that," Anderson said.
To get in contact with someone at COVID Recovery Iowa for a counseling session or any assistance you can visit their website covidrecoveryiowa.org.