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Helping others in your community

Do you work with Washingtonians who need support accessing ESD's benefits and services?

This page includes resources designed to help nonprofits and community partners who are helping people with limited English proficiency, disabilities, limited internet or other access needs.  


Core customer services and benefits at ESD


Free educational webinars and how-to videos

  

Unemployment

  

Paid Family and Medical Leave

  

Reemployment services

  

SharedWork (employers)


Community organization resources

Unemployment Insurance Navigator Program

The Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) is distributing $2.1 million in U.S. Department of Labor funds to community organizations to help potential unemployment claimants in underserved communities better understand available benefits.

Nine community-based organizations in Washington are receiving grant money from ESD’s new Unemployment Insurance (UI) Navigator program.

Staff from these organizations, called UI Navigators, aim to help ESD lower or remove barriers to unemployment benefits in local communities. They will also work closely with ESD to ensure benefits are available and accessible to all qualified workers.

Organizations will provide outreach, education and support to underrepresented community members, who have been underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

Grant recipients

Chinese Information and Service Center provides comprehensive services to support immigrants and their families by creating opportunities for them to succeed, while honoring their heritage.

Drivers Union is a multiracial and multilingual organization of drivers who work for app-based personal transportation platforms. Its purpose is to promote economic security, fairness, justice and transparency for workers in Washington’s personal transportation industry and beyond.

Korean Community Service Center, established in 1983, enhances the well-being of the Korean American immigrant community in the Puget Sound region. It provides social services and community programs that meet the needs of Korean Americans in Washington.

La Oficina LLC is dedicated to transforming lives by providing information, education, resources and advocacy for the minority community, fostering meaningful engagement with government organizations.

Native Action Network works to enhance the beauty, strength and integrity of the American Indian and Alaska Native community through leadership development, civic engagement, community building and economic restoration.

Neighborhood House, established in 1906, focuses on providing services to entire families, including low-income community members, public housing residents, immigrants and refugees.

People for People, founded in 1965, provides services including transportation, employment and training, senior nutrition and more throughout Washington with offices in Yakima, Moses Lake, Ellensburg, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Goldendale, White Salmon, Union Gap and Stevenson.

TRAC Associates, founded in 1983, is an employment, training and social service organization that provides vocational help to all disadvantaged job seekers. It has offices in Tacoma, Everett, Seattle, Tukwila and Kent.

Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, represents and provides services for hundreds of local unions throughout Washington. More than 600 local unions are affiliated with the organization, which represents more than 550,000 union members.

About the UI Navigator program

Community organizations selected for the UI Navigator program will meet regularly with ESD to:

  • Discuss barriers customers face and possible solutions.
  • Determine ways to measure success.
  • Learn about ESD benefits and services.

Training and more

Organizations met in person with ESD staff, including ESD Commissioner Cami Feek, for a summit in January 2024 in SeaTac. The private event helped organizations continue to expand their knowledge of unemployment benefits and served as an unofficial kickoff for the UI Navigator program.

ESD provided organizations with resources. The summit provided organizations an opportunity to ask questions about program requirements, reporting and more.

UI Navigators will also:

  • Meet regularly with ESD(virtual or in-person) to share best practices and review emergent challenges.
  • Provide ongoing feedback and suggestionson how ESD can improve its services and help ensure these benefits are available and accessible for everyone.
  • Conduct targeted outreach, education and support activities communities who have been historically underserved, marginalized and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. This may include promoting awareness of other social safety net programs.

Resources

U.S. Department of Labor tours the state to meet with Unemployment Insurance Navigator program organizations (Medium Blog)

New Unemployment Insurance Navigator Program aims to remove barriers to benefits in local communities (news release, Jan. 22, 2024)

UI Navigator program flyer (PDF)

ESD Commissioner Cami Feek thanks community-based organizations at the UI Navigator Summit (Video)

Applying for Unemployment (PDF)


Shareable resources

  

Unemployment

  

Paid Family and Medical Leave


In-language resources

 

The Employment Security Department website and eServices are available in English and Spanish. For all other languages: To apply for unemployment benefits, file a weekly claim, or get general help, call the Language Access line at 800-410-0758.

Dial the extension below for help in your language. Interpreters are available for free. You can also find information on the in-language webpages linked below. 

አማርኛ - Amharic, extension 14

فارسی - Farsi, extension 18

中文(简体) - Chinese, extension 15

Chuuk - Chuukese, extension 27

Kajin majeļ - Marshallese, extension 24

ខ្មែរ - Cambodian, extension 20

العربية - Arabic, extension 16

한국어 - Korean, extension 17

ຄົນລາວ - Laotian, extension 31

Afaan Oromoo - Oromo, extension 21

ਪੰਜਾਬੀ - Punjabi, extension 25

Русский - Russian, extension 11

Soomaali - Somali, extension 12

Tagalog - Tagalog, extension 34

Tiếng Việt -  Vietnamese, extension 10

Tekoi er a Belau - Palauan, extension 29

Burmese, extension 22

Cantonese, extension 13

French, extension 23

German, extension 33

Italian, extension 32

Japanese, extension 28

Samoan, extension 30

Tigrinya, extension 19

Ukrainian, extension 26

All other languages: extension 35

 

Paid Leave application packets are available in additional languages on paidleave.wa.gov.


Equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations

If you are supporting someone who is having trouble accessing our services, they may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation. The person seeking the accommodation should contact the service they are seeking directly, if possible.

Equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations for unemployment benefits

Equity and access for Paid Family & Medical Leave   

 

Equal opportunity is the law

Employment Security Department is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Language assistance services for limited English proficient individuals are available free of charge.


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