How long before I can call Governor's office about ESD delays? Emergency with kids and utilities

The Governor's Office for constituent services is (360) 902-4111. You can also use their online contact form. BUT before you wait until 6 weeks, you should definitely notify ESD about your hardship situation with utilities and children. While the standard advice is to wait, they DO have procedures for expediting claims in genuine hardship situations. Call the main ESD line at 800-318-6022 and specifically mention "financial hardship with minor children and utility shutoff" to the agent.

I was in this EXACT situation last month!! The governor's office number helped but honestly it still took them another week to actually DO anything after I called. For your utilities - contact your provider DIRECTLY and tell them you're waiting on unemployment. Most have hardship programs where they'll extend your payment date by 30 days if you're waiting on unemployment benefits. I did this with PSE and they gave me an extension no problem. Also try calling 211 for emergency assistance resources!!

The whole system is RIGGED to make people give up!!! I waited 9 weeks last year and the governors office didn't do ANYTHING except send a generic email. Don't get your hopes up. They WANT you to suffer so you'll take any job even if it pays nothing. The whole "6 week" thing is just to make you feel like there's a process but there ISN'T.

Have u tried using Claimyr? saved me when i was in the same situation with kids + bills due and nobody answering at ESD. its a service that gets you through to an actual ESD agent usually within 30 mins. costs a little but WAY worth it when ur desperate. they have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/7DieNd3C7zQ?si=26TzE_zGms-DODN3 website is claimyr.com - seriously it was the only thing that worked for me after two weeks of trying to call myself

Calling governor won't help imo, they all just pass you around like a hot potato lol. My cousin waited 8 weeks last year and nothing happened until he got his state rep involved. Thats what finally worked for him

Going back to your original question about hardship - ESD actually does have a formal hardship process, but it's not well-publicized. When you finally reach an agent, specifically ask them to document a "hardship request due to imminent utility shutoff with minor children in the household" on your claim. This creates a special flag in their system that's supposed to expedite review. Make sure to have documentation ready - a copy of your utility bill showing the shutoff date and something showing you have dependent children.

Hey so random question but are you on standby status or regular unemployment? Because standby claims are supposed to be processed faster than regular ones. When I was on standby last year it only took 2 weeks to get my first payment even though regular UI was taking forever for everyone else

Just checking in - did you have any luck getting through to ESD? I've been thinking about your situation with the utilities and kids.