The life of a student trying to survive the pandemic, maintaining some sort of social life, getting your work done, and missing the closeness of family and friends can be really hard. Virtual learning and sitting in front of a screen all day may not have been what you imagined your college experience to be. If you are having some difficulty in managing your stress, school work, and social life, here are a few tips to help to reduce your stress.

If you are missing friends and family:

• Schedule regular check-ins, a phone call or virtually, to find out what’s going on in their lives

• Host a virtual movie or game night with lots of snacks

• Text or call a friend/family member when they cross your mind

If the stress of everything is getting to you, try some of these stress relievers

• Meditation to calm your mind (the calm app)

• Listen to your favorite music

• Take a break and watch your favorite tv show or movie

• Engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity to boost the feel good hormones 

• Print out some coloring book sheets or use a coloring app

• Take a social media break for a few hours or even a few days

Zoom Fatigue is real! It’s normal to feel exhausted at the thought of logging in. Here are a few tips to help you make it through a day of class

• Get some fresh air and sunlight between classes

• Take a break from all of your screens (phone, tablet, gaming system, television)

• Make sure you are well rested before class starts

• Keep some energizing snacks nearby

If you are having trouble with getting your work done 

• Reach out to the Academic Success Center for tutoring resources and the writing center

• Try the Pomodoro technique:

• pick one task/assignment 

• set your timer for 20-30 minutes

• work nonstop until the timer goes off

• take a 5 minute break

• reset your timer

• repeat until you’re happy with your progress

• Ask your professors and TAs for help

University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The Commons, Suite 308
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, Maryland 21250

Utility Moratorium: The Public Service Commission has ordered a hold on all gas/electric service terminations until June 30, 2021 for the following two groups ONLY:

1)      Any customer with a signed medical certification on file with the utility.

2)      Any customer who has received or been qualified to receive Office of Home Energy assistance since February 15, 2017.

See the attachment for more details.

Pepco Customers: Pepco has proposed a three-year multi-year rate plan from April 2021 through March 2024. According to Pepco, the total bill impact for the average residential customer would be just over $5.80 in 2023. See the attached Press Release from the Public Service Commission for more details about the plan and how to participate in the hearing.

OHEP Applications: The Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) has made a policy change as it relates to incomplete documentation for an energy assistance application. If the reason for application denial is due to incomplete information, the applicant has 90 days from the Notice of Denial to submit the missing eligibility documentation for the original application to be processed.

Utility Bill Payment Help:

- Check out a video on how to keep your power on even when you are facing high utility bills.

- All utilities are offering 12 month payment plans with no down payment required. Contact your utility for more information.

- The Office of People's Counsel has created an energy assistance toolkit to help Maryland households facing utility turn-off notices. This toolkit includes videos on how to fill out the Office of Home Energy Programs application, forms, and resource guides. 

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