INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Residents facing new challenges because of the coronavirus pandemic can call for help at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center downtown.

The center’s executive director, Allison Luthe, knew not long after schools were closing down and jobs were being eliminated, they would have to step up for people in the community who needed help the most.

“We spent the last week preparing,” Luthe said.

Normally, the MLK Center would be getting ready for its annual spring break camp, so when word got out that the coronavirus was going to shut down schools and keep some people from getting a paycheck, they switched gears to provide help.

They are providing area residents with emergency child care for schoolchildren of people who have to work but don’t have anywhere to take their kids.

“They could be anybody in the nearby area,” Luthe said.

According to Luthe, the center will deliver food to residents who qualify for help at their homes if they don’t have transportation.

The center is in need of volunteers who can work with kids, organize food, deliver meals or help sanitize the building at night with Trader’s Point Church Midtown.

“As a community center, it’s our job to meet the needs of the most vulnerable but it’s also an opportunity to bring people together,” she said. “Folks who don’t have health concerns and income concerns can help those that do right now.”

Call the MLK Center, downtown at 40 W. 40th St., at 317-923-4581 if you need any assistance.