House candidate busy helping people

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With so many people filing for unemployment at the same time, it is taking time to get benefits. Suzie Bell, co-founder of the ECHO Clinic and Village, said many people are struggling to pay their rent and utilities. ECHO has received a grant to help with homelessness, money being used primarily to prevent homelessness.

“The hope is by helping them with rent and utilities, we get them where they can’t lose their home,” Bell said. “At ECHO Village, we have regular residents struggling. We told them to just chill and hold tight. I can’t see putting any pressure on anyone right now because they don’t have work.”

Bell has been cutting organic greens from the ECHO greenhouse and delivering them to elderly residents in town. She has also been picking up groceries for older and disabled people.

A candidate for the Arkansas House of Representatives, Bell said her campaign has shifted to service mode.

“We’re trying to make sure people are staying safe and not putting themselves at risk,” she said. “If we can get the groceries for them, that is so much better. I’m using gloves and masks as we do have confirmed cases here. As I was driving through town to do this work, I noticed people standing there talking to each other with no masks and not keeping six feet apart. Not everyone is adhering to the social distancing recommendations.

“People, please be smart. We think we are in a bubble because we are in a rural area that won’t be affected like New York City. We won’t, but it would take only a handful of cases to overwhelm our small hospital. So, we really, really need to be smart.”

Her husband. Dr. Dan Bell, has been studying medical journals on the pandemic and said, “This one is ugly.”

“This is nothing to mess with,” Suzie Bell said. “I don’t want people thinking this is just like the flu, because it is not. I’m so disappointed with the governor not issuing a stay-at-home order. He needs to issue a statewide lockdown because there are churches that are still meeting. They are going to continue to do that, which puts everyone else at risk. Best thing is to love your neighbor by staying away.”

According to Arkansas Dept. of Health, Covid-19 is not spreading as rapidly in Arkansas as earlier predicted, with about 927 cases when more than 2,000 were expected by early April. However, there is still concern that limited testing capabilities in Arkansas could mean that many cases have gone unreported. And the number of new cases April 5 was 110, the largest single-day increase in the state.

For general questions about Covid-19, call the ADH hotline at 1 (800) 803-7847 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After normal business hours, for urgent calls needing immediate response, call 1 (800) 554-5738.