COVID-19 demand increases hiring needs at Good Samaritan Shelter in Santa Maria

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Good Samaritan Shelter in Santa Maria has had its share of hurdles during the pandemic.

Now comes a really big one: staffing.

"We definitely are short on staff far we’ve been working very hard our human resources department has been working nonstop to hire staff," said CFO Hector Giron of the Good Samaritan Shelter.

During the pandemic, the agency lost several employees.

Now managers are struggling to find candidates to fill those positions.

"Everyone in the country is going through some big staffing shortage … and we just can’t seem to find employees that work for us," said Giron.

Managers at the shelter say some of the positions open right now include front line workers, shelter workers, and safe house advocates.

"Many of our openings are new positions that we have … new programs … and so we’re really looking to hire some some staff that are going to come on we have some great benefits and the payroll and it especially in comparison to the arm areas," said executive director Sylvia Barnard of the Good Samaritan Shelter.

Managers say the need for more services has risen in recent months, making it all the more critical to hire staff as soon as possible.

"You haven’t had this many open positions prior to the pandemic ... but the pandemic has really impacted our services to provide more ... so we need more staffing to be able to make that happen," said Barnard.

"Exactly we want to provide the best services … struggling with not having full staff … but my hope is that at some point we will be back to normal," said Giron.

If you are interested in applying for a job at the Good Samaritan in Santa Maria, go to the website at: https://goodsamaritanshelter.org/.