People on the Monterey Peninsula who go to Seaside to apply for Medi-Cal, CalFresh or CalWORKs will need a new plan next month. Monterey County's Department of Social Services is closing its Seaside Community Benefits Office at 1281 Broadway Ave. to the public at the end of October.
Why it is closing
A June 2025 audit found the building out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Monterey County Weekly reported. Fixing parking spaces, walkways and bathrooms would have cost $3.9 million, money the department did not have, so it chose to shut the office instead. The site has been in limbo for a while: in January, supervisors voted 3-2 to pursue demolishing the aging building and replacing it with a three-story, 46,500-square-foot building with underground parking, the most expensive of seven concepts considered.
What changes, and when
From Oct. 26 through Oct. 30, the Seaside office will offer only urgent and limited in-person help. Starting Nov. 2, limited in-person services and document drop-off move to the county's Coastal Office at 2620 First Ave. in Marina, Bay City News reported. Staff there will help people who are homeless or in an urgent housing crisis and people experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, and they can issue or replace EBT cards and provide emergency Medi-Cal paper cards. Assistant director Eva Jeronimo told the Weekly that Seaside staff will be moved to the Marina and Salinas offices.
Other ways to keep benefits
No one has to visit an office to apply for or keep benefits. Applications, documents and reported changes can go through the state's BenefitsCal website, by phone at 877-410-8823, by fax at 831-784-5691, or by mail to the Department of Social Services at 1488 Schilling Place in Salinas. Full-service offices remain open in Salinas at 1000 S. Main St., Suite 216, and in King City at 116 Broadway St. The county says access to benefits will not be interrupted and that people can ask for reasonable accommodations or language help.