EL CAJON, Calif. — An El Cajon woman who reached out to News 8 for help with unemployment benefits has been certified for $14K in back benefits from the state Employment Development Department (EDD).
“It will be $14,441 that I just certified for,” said Jennifer VanValkenburg, an unemployed deli manager. “It means a lot to my life. It means that I'll be able to take care of the things I need to take care of, so I can survive.”
VanValkenburg had been receiving unemployment benefits since October. Then, the payments suddenly stopped in May, right in the middle of the pandemic.
She contacted News 8 for help and a reporter contacted her state senator, Brian Jones, who represents the East County and North County.
“I think that our office, since March, has handled over 4,000 cases,” Jones said.
Jones' staff was able to reach out to EDD, as most state assembly members and state senators have weekly staff meetings with EDD.
Jones said if you're having trouble getting through on the EDD phone lines, you should contact either your state assemblyperson or state senator's office.
“So, you're going to look up where you live, who's your assemblyman, who's your senator, contact those offices, and just be consistent with those offices. If they're not getting back to you, stay on them,” Jones suggested.
One day after VanValkenburg appeared on News 8, she received a telephone notice from EDD saying that she was eligible to certify for 12 weeks of back benefits, as well as future payments.
“First off, I'm going to register my car, pay my insurance, and pay back the people that I've borrowed money from to survive these last 12 weeks,” VanValkenburg said.
VanValkenburg certified the benefits automatically over the telephone. Currently, she's waiting for the $14K to be deposited into her EDD debit card account.