The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), Social Services Call Center will be closed Wednesdays starting Dec. 1. 

The Call Center will continue operating from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. 

The following Social Services offices will also remain open five days a week: 

• Eureka, 929 Koster St.
  7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 
• Hoopa, 535 Airport Road
  9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Fortuna, 3306 Renner Drive
  8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Garberville, 727 Cedar St.
  9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The decision to close Wednesdays was made as staffing levels in the Health and Nutrition Services Division have dropped to 58% between vacancies and staff on leave. The decision will be re-evaluated in three months, and Recruitment for Eligibility Specialists is ongoing.

Call Center Manager Sarah Cahill said, “We have hit a critical point where customers and staff are suffering. If we have limited ability to increase the amount of people doing the work, we must look at a way to allow the people we have to increase the amount of work they are able to complete.”

Closing one day a week will give the nearly 25 Call Center staff the ability to spend the day conducting interviews and processing existing applications for CalFresh and Medi-Cal. 

Existing clients can still call during closed hours and use the Interactive Voice Response system to access account balances and request replacement forms. EBT card holders can also call the number on the back of their cards to get account balances. 

To apply for Medi-Cal, CalFresh or CalWORKs online, visit www.BenefitsCal.com. The Call Center staff can be reached Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 1-877-410-8809. 

To learn more about working as an Eligibility Specialist for DHHS and to apply, visit www.humboldtgov.org/jobs.

###

Follow us on Twitter: @HumCoDHHS and
Facebook: www.facebook.com/humcodhhs