Unemployed workers in Birmingham can now apply for jobs through the Birmingham Strong Service Corps — a program that matches workers with new jobs created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To be eligible, applicants must be 18, live in the Birmingham city limits and have become recently unemployed due to the pandemic. Applicants will complete a form requesting information about their work experience and availability.

Some of the available jobs through the Birmingham Strong Service Corps include calling Birmingham Housing Authority residents and screening them for COVID-19 symptoms and arranging testing, working at a virtual call center to answer calls from business owners who have questions about the CARES Act, school lunch preparation and delivery, delivering school supplies to Birmingham City Schools students and providing transportation for people who need coronavirus testing.

The city has created a way to transport COVID-19 patients using a clear plastic barrier in the car called a “vehicle isolation pod” that creates a barrier between the rider and the driver. It can be installed in the back of a sedan. Officials with the Jefferson County Health Department helped design the pod and created a cleaning protocol to disinfect the pod between riders.

Images shown during a Birmingham Budget and Finance Committee meeting show examples of the "vehicle isolation pod" created to protect drivers transporting suspected COVID-19 patients to testing centers. (Screengrab/Birmingham City Council Facebook).

City officials say they have a safe, health-department approved way to take patients for testing. The minimum rate of pay is $12 per hour. Those who are giving rides to potential COVID-19 patients will get higher pay.

Josh Carpenter, director of the Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, said they’ve been testing the concept using some of the residents who have applied to be a “resiliency worker” on the Bham Strong website.

Those interested can apply online here.

The Birmingham Strong Service Corps is part of Birmingham Strong, LLC, the company created through the Birmingham Strong Fund to connect Birmingham small businesses and residents impacted by COVID-19 with loans and other funds. Both the city of Birmingham and private companies have provided money to support Birmingham Strong.

On Tuesday, the Birmingham City Council will vote on giving $1 million to Birmingham Strong, LLC. Of that $1 million, $557,000 will come from the Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity budget; $443,000 will come from two different economic incentives to Pappadeaux and TopGolf.