Sonoma County Human Services Economic Assistance Service Center - Santa Rosa, California

Kurt A.

Almost everything that is required you to do to be able to get food stamps requires about 3 visits to accomplish. Every single time I do something I get told it's completed , then a few days later I get a notice saying I am going to be canceled. So I go there get a number and wait just to be told you have to get here really early in the morning and wait outside in the freezing cold instead of just taking care of it right there and then. They are making more work for themselves and wasting alot of time by pushing it off. I can't wait in line in 30 degree weather. They need a better phone service also, you wait for hours on hold just to be hung up on. Just because we are on food stamps doesn't mean we can waste our time like that either. Here is an idea, have people who are receiving food stamps to mabey volunteer a few hours a month or every other month doing the smaller tasks that takes up time of the full time workers who help us . It would take some stress off of them. And the volunteer can show the next person how to do the task they volunteered for. There would have to be some incentive for them to volunteer, extra funds for food or a Small cash card for the time they worked . I would be happy to volunteer some time. And get an automated phone service that would streamline the calls.
The 2 stars was only because of things I complained about. The people get 5 stars because I think they are great. They just have to much piled on them. A little extra help might do the trick.
Thank you,
Kurt

Kari G.

being a Human Service Aide (oh let me mention i was only a temp worker) was one of the most rewarding positions I have ever had due to the lack of compassion some of these workers have. I am confident enough to say my acts of kindness would make clients visit to the office less intimidating.. Numerous times I was told that I was the only person who seem to have compassion. It sucks that I had to interview again in order to be a full time worker- They hired other temps which I had to train while being a temp worker ONLY for Gisela Chavez and Nadine G. to not give me the position because I didn't answer the interview questions with extended detail... just does not make sense. They were always hawk watching over us so I know they would see the work we did and not one time would they praise our work. What a waste of effort only to be humiliated and not end up getting the job after 5 months of hard work. Karma..

Andrea R.

They were so careless with me that it caused months of agony and wasted effort that could have easily been avoided for me if they just paid a little bit closer attention to the details in my case. They don’t care about you. This is only a job for them to do and you are just another number. Whether you get help or not they couldn’t care less.

Mohammed A.

Very bad customer service, I sent my renewal application for my medical before 40 days and I called them almost twice a week to see why my case is still on pending no body give answer or sometimes they said we will transfer you to the specialist to help you and they put me on hold and no one responded for a 2 hours waiting on the phone, unfortunately the office has very bad experience and the manager who is in charge should be fired immediately.

Nicklas M.

This is the new," DMV " , of old ! Unfortunately it's a tough situation. Don't miss dates , problem is there backed up if your on time ? There are a lot of double, triple work and citizens being annoyed 😠 . The system is old and outdated, but they try hard . I had to go three hours last Fri and two today to get what I put in on time September first , activated, and it is but if I neglected it I'd be fricked! 10-24 go I. Wait two hours to be told no one competent can see you and we’re short handed , come back at one am , wait outside and maybe your lottery will be picked tomorrow. Young old no different, no appointments available and their backed up and sending threatening letters cause their in ept so the clogs get worse ! GMAFB ! Get help or something, the pandemic is long over , thousands of folks in that campus and treating seniors on Medicare and medical like scraps ! No definite answer on when or how to resolve an issue. I’m surprised they didn’t recommend the Graton as the slots have better odds then fixing an issue due to in ept action to begin with. It’s a clusterfuck! I suppose they will eventually get help , maybe 🤔

Athena B.

The wait time is extremely long. We arrived at 8 am and they did not attend to us until 10am. Then, we had to wait even longer to finish all the paperwork. We did not leave until 3pm. Despite the long wait time, all of the bilingual people are extremely nice and helpful, but some of the English speaking employees are rude and yell when someone tries to ask them a question in Spanish.

I understand the difficulty of managing wait times but it would be nice to come in and not have to deal with rude employees too.

Patrick R.

Edit of edit:
First come first serve makes no sense, why have employees make first contact for ticket if it doesn't matter

Idk what I was thinking making excuses for this sorry place. The workers out front are basically useless and they are sooo slow! Short staff isn't an excuse, the whole system doesn't make sense.
Some people come in with a few questions. Others KNOW WHAT THEY NEED DONE!
Triage is done everywhere else for a reason, or at least clients are directed to the people who can help. I know what I need and the social workers (counsolers?) In the back are the only ones who can help...
Then you have social workers at the windows taking over 30mins with ONE CLIENT!!! It's so frustrating. Sonoma County is HUGE and their seems to be NO oversight, who can make the necessary changes?

I waited hour n half to give them my new address. I also need to start my medical county transfer. Lady at windows couldn't do it, said the workers in the back had to, but I have to come in early tomorrow n wait all over again. THEY WERE OPEN FOR ANITHER 2 n HALF HOURS!!!¡!! Like honestly, they don't fuggin care. It's a simple thing, I don't get how they just continue with a broken system when it could be streamlined. ... the worst out of 4 county offices , so bad...

Jessica S.

They don’t ever answer their phone even when you’re supposed to have a phone interview.