Eureka Mayor Susan Seaman Gives Weekly Address on COVID-19

This is a press release from the City of Eureka:

Hello. I’m Mayor Susan Seaman.  As I’ve shared with you in my previous communications, the City of Eureka is working hard to support the health and well-being of our citizens, our community, and our economy during this COVID-19 pandemic.

This week, many of my discussions have been about food safety and security – including the challenges, resources and the importance of making sure everyone has access to fresh food every day.

We have a lot of great organizations working hard towards this goal and today I would like to highlight and congratulate Eureka City Schools, who have been distributing meals to any child under the age of 18 in the greater Eureka area. This is not just limited to Eureka City Schools’ students. This week, with school buses making regular deliveries to pick up sites, they delivered their 90,000^th meal. Nice Work, Eureka City Schools! And, I’m happy to say that this program will continue through summer, as well.

I also want you to know if you have a child who qualifies for school lunches, your family is eligible to receive a Pandemic-EBT Card – a supplemental $365 per child. For families who receive other benefits like CalFresh or Medi-Cal, this will automatically come to you as a separate card. If your child qualifies for school lunch but you do not receive other benefits, you can request the card by June 30. For more information about the program, visit ca.p-ebt.org/info.

We have many local community resources that are doing valuable work in the area of food security including Food for People, our local family resource centers, St. Vincent DePaul Dining Services, Betty Chinn Center, local tribes, churches and more.

Even our Eureka Restaurateurs are doing what they can, including Christine Silver from Humboldt Soup Kitchen who is preparing and donating soup to 154 seniors at Silvercrest Residential Housing two to three times a week. Nick Kohl, owner of Oberon Grill, runs the Arcata House Kitchen while continuing to offer take-out meals through his restaurant in Old Town.

I would like to give a big thanks and virtual hugs to everyone who is helping to assure this basic need is being met.

But, basic needs don’t stop at food. If you were laid off work, had a reduction in work hours, or if you can’t work because of COVID-19 and you’re facing financial hardship, the Smart Business Resource Center has COVID-19 related financial assistance to help with expenses. You can call (530) 245-1530 to get more information and to see if you qualify for hardship funding.

Now, I want to recognize that this weekend is Memorial Day.  I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize our fallen veterans.  This is a time to honor the sacrifices so many men and women have made for our country.

For many Eureka residents, Memorial Day is also considered the first day of summer fun.  Locally, this includes the Kinetic Sculpture Race, a Humboldt County tradition for 50 years. The Kinetic Universe is a tenacious and creative bunch, so rest assured, while you may not have the same Kinetic Experience as usual, they are still offering Kinetic Sculpture in Place.  It will have art, engineering and pagentry – for the Glory, of course. If you want to witness this once in a lifetime event, follow the happenings at kineticgrandchampionship.com.

And, one final note. Last night, five high school finalists competed in Humboldt County’s Innovate Small Business Plan competition. As we look ahead into a very uncertain future, it can provide us all a great deal of hope to see the intelligent and innovative minds that are thinking about how they’ll contribute to our collective future. It never fails to exceed my expectations. I encourage you to watch the ceremony at hcoe.org.

Again, I’m Mayor Susan Seaman.  As always, I appreciate your attention to this message, and your commitment to doing everything you can to protect and celebrate our great community.

Be safe, stay healthy, be patient with yourself and kind to your neighbors and family. We’ll talk again soon.