Social Services North County Office Gets Local Numbers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MOUNTAIN VIEW – Residents of northern Santa Clara County are now three digits and many miles closer to vital public services. Starting this month, the North County office for Santa Clara County’s Social Services Agency (SSA) has new phone numbers in the 650 area code, making the office truly local for residents of Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, and parts of Sunnyvale.

The Social Services Agency set up the new 650 numbers after requests from Supervisor Joe Simitian. Earlier this year, Simitian helped secure an accessible North County location for the agency in Mountain View after it lost the lease on its long-time office there, a victim of the booming real estate market.

“Keeping local services truly local has been a priority for me from my first day in County office,” said Simitian, who worked to prevent the closure of the North County Social Services office during his first term as supervisor in the late 1990s. “I know how important these programs are for many people in North County, notwithstanding its reputation as a prosperous place.”

Programs like the health care coverage of Medi-Cal, the food assistance of CalFresh, and the general support of CalWorks are funded by the state and federal governments, but are administered by county governments. Santa Clara County residents access those services through the County’s Social Services Agency.

“These services are life-savers for many in the North County,” said Tom Myers, Executive Director of the Mountain View-based nonprofit Community Services Agency. His organization provides safety-net services that complement the County-run programs, and even played host to the County SSA for a few months during the search for a new North County office. “We’ve built a strong partnership with County Social Services. Anything that helps make their programs more accessible to our clients and our community is a good thing.”

Northern Santa Clara County residents seeking information or assistance with health care programs like Medi-Cal and support programs like CalFresh can call (650) 988-6200 to speak with agency staff. For employment benefits like CalWorks, they should call (650) 988-6270.

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