The Couch

The Couch – A few Resources to Help with the Quarantine

In response to the current crisis, The Couch is being proactive and providing a few resources for support and information during the quarantine. We hope this helps us all stay collected, healthy and supportive of each other.

Small business loans from the SBA

It is called Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and you can read more about it here.  It is not for all states, this is the list: California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, and Washington. If your state is on the list, click the link and find out more.

Small business emergency funding information by Business Insider

The publication posted a list of emergency funding available including amounts, eligibility information, who is offering it and how it can be used. Just click here.

If your challenge is to keep your exercise routine…

Many studios and are offering online yoga classes and there are other activities too. Just put the name of your favorite activity + online on your search engine address bar and see what comes up. Nope, I don’t think you will be able to run a marathon or triathlon, but you can find loads of sports equipment on Craigslist and other places at affordable prices. The lists are usually by state, so start searching.what to do?

Many colleagues are holding online get-togethers, others are offering free courses.

Check your Twitter feed or Facebook Home tab, or the list below, generously organized by Maha El-Metwally. And we are impressed too, Maha!

In these hard times, I am impressed by the generosity of colleagues who launched initiatives to help #translators and #interpreters to cope with the situation and to work on their skills. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

**********Updated List ************

– Teaching #consecutive interpreting online by Sophie Llewellyn Smith. 19 March 2020 at 6pm UK time.
https://zoom.us/…/regist…/u5IlcO6orDIinhSDVm0QDlj-XoVFkBb3KA

– Teaching #simultaneous interpreting online by Sophie Llewellyn Smith. 19 March 2020 at 7 pm UK time.
https://zoom.us/…/regist…/uZUsf-2gqTIq9OSAQ1ZmgwjzFfZL5eEzWg

– Getting Started as a Freelance Translator by Corinne McKay beginning 30 March.
https://www.trainingfortranslators.com/…/getting-started-a…/

– Temporary Transition to Remote Interpreting During Health Emergencies: Guidance and Tips for Language Access Stakeholders. Sponsored by National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC). 28 March at 12:00 Noon ET / 11:00 AM CT / 9:00 AM PT
https://www.ncihc.org/free-webinar–mar-28

– Virtual practice group for interpreters with Darinka Mangino on 24 and 30 March at 7-9 am Mexico City time.
https://www.eventbee.com/v/open-group-practice/event…

– A series of webinar by Alexander Drechsel and Josh Goldsmith of Tech Forward. First session on providing feedback online on 19 March at 5pm CET / 11am EST. More details to follow here: https://techforword.com/p/webinars

– Discord Server for interpreters who just need to talk with Jonathan Downie.
https://discordapp.com/invite/fR8zpbg…

– Remote Interpreting Platforms webinar in #Arabic by yours truly on 20 March at 7 pm Cairo time.
https://zoom.us/j/512007499

– Let’s talk about terms and conditions for freelancers – why we need them by Sue Leschen on 1 April 2020 at 4 pm UK time.
https://zoom.us/j/333932050

– Marketing Strategies Course for Translators by Sherif Abuzid. A self-paced course. Registration till 31 March. https://www.translatorsgrowth.com/stay-at-home/

If you have any events or ideas to include, please do so in the comments below.

Please note: If you have a topic you’d like to see discussed on The Couch write to the Editor. The comments section here should be used only to reply to the issue under discussion today. When you submit a question or topic for The Couch we will make sure to remove all information that might make the parties or case identifiable.

Check out other topics discussed here and here.


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6 thoughts on “The Couch – A few Resources to Help with the Quarantine”

  1. Kathleen M Morris says:

    Freelancers cannot normally qualify for unemployment benefits. To your knowledge, are there any Federal or individual states’ initiatives being considered, that would temporarily allow freelancers to qualify for such benefits, while many court systems are partially shut down?

    1. Gio Lester says:

      The Freelancers Union posted an article on their blog about the crisis and freelancers: https://blog.freelancersunion.org/2020/03/11/what-freelancers-need-to-know-about-coronavirus/. It shares some interesting resources, including help with utility bills (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ocs/programs/liheap).

  2. Observer Editor says:

    Hello, Kathleen. your concern is well-founded. However, many of our colleagues are small business owners. As far as freelancers are concerned, I would check Freelancers Union (https://www.freelancersunion.org/) and the National Association for the Self-Employed -NASE (https://www.nase.org/). The NASE has a special section of their site dedicated to this crisis (https://www.nase.org/covid-19)., though its concern is primarily its members, some information in the post can be useful for all of us.
    There is no one-size-fits-all solution or source of information for this situation. It is unprecedented and solutions are surfacing as the days go by. Those of us who have professional insurance might want to check their coverage.

  3. Jinny Bromberg says:

    Interpreter Education Online offers a Video Remote Interpreting training package free of charge with purchase of any other course on the website:

    https://interpretereducationonline.com/video-remote-interpreting-education-for-all/

  4. Anne Valbonesi says:

    I am so sorry that I missed the Simultaneous Interpreting course offered on 19th March of this year. Could you please let me know if and when you might be offering another? This kind of thing is so precious to me, because it has never been offered in Calgary and probably never will be. I don’t have a website, because I am a freelance interpreter

    Thank you,

    Anne Valbonesi.

    1. Observer Editor says:

      NAJIT has not, to my knowledge, offered any webinars recently, Anne.

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