West Hawaii resident John Breeden arrived at the West Hawaii Civic Center just after 9 a.m. Wednesday with his 91-year-old mother expecting a long line of people queued up for the monthly Social Security Administration’s Kona visit.
Instead, he found a sign-up sheet, extra chairs in the shade of the civic center’s pavilion and three employees, not two, processing applications and answering questions.
The employees started calling people in to the building where the paperwork was being accepted just before 9 a.m., slightly earlier than the usual start time.
West Hawaii residents voiced their concerns earlier this month about the Social Security contact office, where the employees got high marks for their work, but the set up — limited chairs inside, long lines outside and only two employees to handle hundreds of requests in less than five hours — did not. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Rep. Mazie Hirono, informed about the situation, called it unacceptable and said they would look into it.
They did, Social Security Administration spokeswoman Jane Burigsay said in a voice message Wednesday.
“They have been in touch with us,” Burigsay said. “We have sent them a response.”
She referred further questions to Inouye’s and Hirono’s office. Inouye did not respond to a message left with a spokesman Wednesday.
Hirono, in an email, said she immediately contacted the administration.
“We discussed potential solutions, including sending more staff to West Hawaii,” Hirono said. “While I’m glad to hear there have been some improvements, my office continues to work on this issue.”
One potential way to help seniors would be a “partnership between our libraries and the Social Security Administration to offer assistance to seniors, which could be a nice supplement to an increase in service,” she added.
West Hawaii residents who need SSA services in person can drive to Hilo, where the administration operates an office with regular hours, five days a week, or they can wait until SSA representatives come to Kona, a once-a-month visit that serves roughly 150 people in three to five hours.