HUMBOLDT TODAY: The Bear River Rancheria has filed a lawsuit against the county and state. A new warming center has opened in Eureka. Plus, your latest weather updates. Those stories and more on today’s newscast with John Kennedy O’Connor.

FURTHER READING: 

• Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria Sues County, State for Discriminatory Treatment of Tribal Youth
• Arcata City Council Adopts Revised Budget, Approves Agreement With HWMA for Composting Organic Waste
• Eureka Announces New Warming Shelter for Homeless Citizens, to be Based at Lifehouse Church in Myrtletown

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A local Native American tribe is suing Humboldt County and the State of California, alleging that government employees have routinely cut off foster care benefits to young tribe members prematurely, depriving them of access to housing, education, medical treatment and other necessities.

The suit, which was filed on behalf of the Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria by the law firm of Jenner and Block and the California Tribal Families Coalition, says young tribe members have often been excluded from foster care benefits after turning 18, despite the fact that they remained eligible for those benefits until leaving foster care or aging out of California’s Extended Foster Care program at age 21. 

“These eligible American Indian youths are already a vulnerable population and Defendants’ actions stripping them of much needed programs have exacerbated that vulnerability,” the suit says, adding that tribe members who’ve aged out of foster care are at increased risk of homelessness, unemployment, low educational attainment and early or unintended pregnancies.

A young Bear River Tribe member named Madison Fisher is named as a plaintiff in the case. According to the complaint, Fisher applied for extended foster care benefits when she turned 18 and was initially told that she was eligible. 

However, a few months after moving into county-managed housing, the suit says, “Humboldt County changed its mind unilaterally and stripped Plaintiff Fisher of her eligibility for the 18 and Over Program due to her receipt of tribal distributions.”

As with many tribes, enrolled Bear River members receive financial distributions (e.g., gaming or trust funds) after turning 18, and according to the suit, the county determined that these payments rendered Fisher ineligible for foster care benefits.

Her attorneys say that determination was improper and illegal. They point to federal legislation called the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and a 2012 state bill called the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, both of which say that young people who remain in foster care shall not have their eligibility questioned or re-assessed simply because they turned 18.

And yet in 2013, the California Department of Social Services [CDSS] issued an “All County Letter” telling local governments that “Indian youth must still meet the financial Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) eligibility requirements.”

“As a result,” the lawsuit says, “CDSS regularly conducted redeterminations of eligibility on non-minor youth of the [Bear River] Tribe entering the 18 and Over Program even though they had never left the foster care program.”

Fisher was one such youth, and the suit says she “suffered tremendous loss” that was exacerbated by having her foster care benefits improperly cut off. 

“As she turned 18, without ever having left the foster care program, Plaintiff Fisher continued to need additional support, including financial and emotional support that under federal law was guaranteed,” the suit says.

She was given a week to vacate the housing that had been arranged for her by the county, and the county then “threatened to remove her by force using a police escort if she did not leave her home,” according to the suit. “At the time of this eviction, she had nowhere to go and could not bring necessities with her.”

Fisher’s tribal distribution payments also made her ineligible for food assistance, and after her eviction she struggled to find housing and pay her bills with her savings and unemployment benefits.

“Plaintiff Fisher faced significant substance and mental health issues at this time,” the lawsuit says. “The abrupt eviction and elimination of her primary income left Plaintiff Fisher vulnerable to depression, homelessness, and relapse given her history of substance abuse. She even made an attempt to end her life.”

According to the complaint, the state has acknowledged the error of its ways and vowed to issue new program guidance to county governments, but the California Department of Social Services has made only “nominal efforts to re-enroll American Indian youth who remain eligible” and has taken “no steps” to redress the harm suffered by youth who lost years of benefits to which they were entitled.

The suit, which names as a co-defendant Connie Beck, director of the Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, seeks damages in an amount to be determined at trial, plus attorneys’ fees, declaratory relief and corrective actions. 

Asked for comment, county spokesperson Catarina Gallardo sent the Outpost the following statement:

The Department of Health and Human Services cares deeply for all children and youth it serves. These matters are important issues for the county, and we take them very seriously. However, this is now a legal matter, and we want to preserve the integrity of that process. As such we will not be able discuss this further with the press at this time.

Earlier today, the plaintiffs issued the following press release:

With pro bono support from Jenner & Block, the California Tribal Families Coalition (CTFC) and Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria filed a lawsuit this week against Humboldt County and the State of California for discriminatory treatment of tribal foster youth.

The litigation targets Humboldt County’s practice of improperly denying resources to tribal youth after they leave the foster care system at age 18. Tribal youth are the only group of foster youth being denied these resources by the County.

“Native children are already overrepresented in the foster care system in Humboldt County. Adding to this inequity, Humboldt County instituted an improper policy that specifically singles out and denies tribal youth the supportive services that other foster youth receive to help them transition to independent living when they turn 18 years old,” said Chairperson Josefina Frank of the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria.

“Humboldt County officials have ignored our communications for eight months seeking to reverse this discriminatory practice, leaving us with no option but to file a lawsuit to compel the County to provide tribal youth the support they have been promised,” said Kimberly Cluff, Legal Director for the California Tribal Families Coalition.

Studies show that former foster youth are at dramatically higher risk for suicide, homelessness, incarceration, substance abuse and pregnancy in comparison to non-foster youth. Social services agencies and advocates determined that abruptly cutting off support resources to foster youth when they turn 18 exacerbated these outcomes.

In response, California and other states created programs to provide ongoing resources to assist foster youth in their transition to independent living, which have shown to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population.

Humboldt County provides these extended resources to foster youth from other groups but has enacted a specific policy that improperly denies tribal youth access to these resources. The County’s action appeared to be based on an erroneous 2013 direction from the State of California, which was subsequently rescinded after the state determined it was discriminatory. However, the state has not taken action to require Humboldt County to follow the law and end this discriminatory practice.

The complaint was filed in Humboldt County Superior Court in Eureka, CA.

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DOCUMENT: Bear River Band of Rohnerville Rancheria and Madison Fisher v. California Department of Social Services; Humboldt County; DHHS; Connie Beck and Does 1 through 25.

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The City of Arcata’s budget for fiscal year 2022/23 is looking pretty tight, with the City roughly $13 million above budget on its current expenditures according to the mid-year budget review that took place during Wednesday night’s Arcata City Council meeting. 

And though that might sound like a lot of money, Tabatha Miller – finance director for the City of Arcata – wanted to stress that she was “not too worried about it” and that incoming grant funding and the City’s reserves would be able to largely make up for the $13 million shortfall. 

Miller told the council that Arcata’s expenditures have been unusually high this year (roughly $79 million), but that is because of some of the city’s larger projects underway that are mostly being covered by grant funding. For example, $9.3 million of the deficit is for the conversion of two Valley West hotels into homeless housing, as a part of Project Homekey, a sum that will be covered by grant funding that the city recently received. 

Another large expenditure this year is the city’s Wastewater Treatment Facility, but that is more than covered by the total wastewater fund revenues. Some good news for the city’s budget, Miller said, is that the revenue from wastewater rate increases is $1.1 million higher than originally estimated for the 2022/23 budget. 

Some of the changes made to the budget expenses include $30,000 for funding extreme weather shelters, $30,000 that the city is reserving for the creation of a mural honoring David Josiah Lawson, $195,000 for the Carlson Park improvements (though that money will also be covered by grant funding) and $355,000 the city is setting aside for a new city street sweeper. The revised budget also includes $193,000 in utility increases, a result of unusually high gas prices and the unusually cold winter temperatures, Miller said. 

Though city staff has been working hard to secure grant money, the city has seen a significant increase in most of its other revenue sources and Miller said that this trend will likely continue for a while. Arcata’s sales tax is down 5.7 percent (Humboldt County has seen a nearly seven percent decline) and the city is losing a significant amount of Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) that it would usually collect from local hotels. In addition to the two hotels converted into housing for the homeless, three other Valley West hotels will be used to house returning Cal Poly Humboldt Students next semester. 

Arcata City Manager Karen Diemer said that the city has been in discussions with Cal Poly Humboldt and that the university will likely be providing the City with some funding to offset the loss from the TOT tax. Diemer added that the hotels will still be open to visitors during the summer months and that during that time, the city will be able to collect TOT as usual. 

Following the presentation and a fairly brief discussion, the council voted unanimously to approve the amended 2022/23 budget. Councilmember Stacy Atkins-Salazar was absent, having left the meeting early due to illness. Councilmember Meredith Matthews read a note that Atkins-Salazar left before her exit, which said that the council and city staff had received a request from local nonprofit Black Humboldt, asking if the City could help fund some of the group’s activities. 

This prompted Matthews to point out that the council allocated $100,000 in ARPA funds to Arcata Main Street to help fund outdoor activities, and that part of the agreement was that the organization would specifically work with local groups including Black Humboldt and Queer Humboldt.  

Matthews and Mayor Sarah Schaefer both said that they have not received any update from  Arcata Main Street on how the $100K is being spent and requested that an update from the organization be placed on a future agenda. 

The council also voted to remove any proposed improvements to council chambers from the budget and agreed that the council will need to brainstorm some additional ways to boost the city’s general fund in the future. 

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The council also took a step toward mandating citywide compost, unanimously approving amendments to a joint powers agreement with the Humboldt Waste Management Authority (HWMA) that places the agency in charge of deciding where organic waste will go after it has been collected.

The agreement is one of many steps necessary for Arcata and other parts of Humboldt to come into compliance with SB 1383, California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Reduction Strategy, which requires cities to reduce the waste going into landfills, among other things. 

The HWMA agreement will need to be passed by the other involved governments (at least 70 percent will have to approve it) and then be adopted by the HWMA board or directors. After that, the Arcata City Council (and other local governments) will need to pass a resolution officially designating HWMA as the agency in charge of organic waste flow control.  

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PREVIOUSLY

• Humboldt Prepares for California’s Extensive Organic Waste Bill That Will Require Us to Start Composting, Among Other Things
• Arcata City Council Introduces Ordinance That Will Mandate Composting Your Food Scraps (By Yourself, or Through a Service) to Comply With State’s Organic Waste Bill
• TONIGHT at ARCATA CITY COUNCIL: Arcata Will Take Next Step in Rolling Out Citywide Composting by Approving Agreement with HWMA

Lifehouse Church and the City of Eureka just announced that they’ll be opening a new warming shelter for homeless citizens in times of extreme weather.

Cmdr. Lenny La France of the Eureka Police Department tells the Outpost that this new shelter — to be opened at the church’s campus on Hubbard Lane in Myrtletown — will have a little bit lower of a barrier to entry than existing facilities. There will be accommodations available to people with pets.

La France said that the program will include transportation to and from the facility, and will be operating in conjunction with programs run by the city and existing non-profits. If people are looking to shelter there in times of extreme weather, the best thing to do, La France said, would be to show up at the Free Meal facility in Old Town on the day, to connect with staff at the Betty Chinn Center, or else to call the Eureka Police main line at (707) 441-4060.

The program won’t interfere with the kids’ sports programs that currently take place at the church, La France said.

The push for a new Eureka shelter for times of extreme weather came in the wake of a couple of deaths in the homeless community in recent months, including that of 57-year-old Jestine Green.

Press release from the City of Eureka:

The City of Eureka in collaboration with the Eureka faith-based community will be opening a low barrier, Extreme Weather Overnight Warming Center at Lifehouse Church to ensure those most vulnerable in our community have a warm place to be during inclement weather. Inclement weather can include times of high winds, significant rain, and freezing temperatures. UPLIFT Eureka, Crisis Alternative Response of Eureka (CARE), Eureka Police Department Community Safety Engagement Team (CSET), along with other community partners, will be conducting outreach within the community to directly connect individuals to the warming center. When open, the warming center will operate between 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., be staffed by members of the faith-based community, and supported by UPLIFT Eureka, CARE, and EPD CSET personnel.

According to Eureka City Manager Miles Slattery:

I want to thank Lifehouse Church for their tremendous compassion and generous offer of support for our community. Once solicited by Chief Jarvis for a request of assistance, it was only a matter of hours before receiving a response. I’d like to not only thank the Lifehouse Church, but all of our faithbased community as we have received offers of assistance from other churches and look forward to working with them to continue supporting those most vulnerable within our community.

Lifehouse Church Senior Pastor Willy Bowles said:

Lifehouse Church is excited to be partnering with the City of Eureka in providing an extreme weather overnight warming center. We have already had many volunteers sign up to help, and we know many more will help us in this endeavor. Thank you to Eureka Police Chief Jarvis and Commander La France for all their hard work. Also, thank you to Pastor Andy Broese Van Groenou of Harvest Church in Eureka. Your kindness and care for the community are always an inspiration. Lastly, thank you to the City of Eureka for all of their hard work as well. We have a GREAT community here in Humboldt. When asked if we would consider being a warming center, my answer was an immediate “yes.” I had questions about logistics, volunteers, finances, and I knew I had a church board that needed to approve this before it could go forward. However, I said “yes” anyway. Part of the reason I could say “yes” was because of the men and women on our board. I know their hearts, and I know their love for people and our community. When I approached them with this request, like me, they gave an immediate “yes.” Opening up our building to be a safe place for men, women, and children to come in times of severe weather is a no-brainer. Nobody should ever freeze to death in Humboldt County. That is simply not acceptable. We are excited to be able to do something practical and hands-on. Opening our doors for people to sleep in a safe, warm environment will make a difference in people’s lives. If this isn’t the work of Jesus, then I don’t know anything that is.

Students, add this to the to-do list between now and finals week: Apply for federal food assistance before the fast-approaching end of a rule that allows more folks to qualify.

Starting June 10, students whose families could not contribute a dollar to their education or who are approved for federal or state work-study programs will no longer be automatically eligible for CalFresh, the program formerly known as food stamps. Instead, students will have to seek those benefits through a stricter set of eligibility rules that limit how many low-income people enrolled in college can receive food aid.The imminent deadline — the result of a federal health order sunsetting — is putting pressure on California campus officials, both public and private, and state agencies to inform students these benefits are ending soon.

Everyone — advocates, researchers, college social service coordinators and county officials — says the time is now for students to apply. Seeking the aid before the rules tighten again could buy a previously ineligible student as much as a year of time on food assistance, they say. A qualifying student could get up to $281 a month to pay for groceries.Beyond a matter of basic necessity, ensuring students aren’t hungry has clear academic benefits, including higher college graduation rates, studies have shown.

“There is a scramble right now,” said Brandi Simonaro of CalState Chico’s Center for Healthy Communities, which holds a state contract to help students apply for food assistance on 48 mostly public college campuses statewide.

Part of the challenge, she said, is misinformation among campus officials about CalFresh’s complex and changing eligibility rules; she fears the confusion will discourage students from applying.

Marcia Garcia guides students through the CalFresh application process at UC Berkeley and sees firsthand how pressed for time they are, especially for those with jobs or children.

“I think there’s always this concern, right, that not everyone is going to learn about these resources in time,” she said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 127,000 California college students received CalFresh, even though anywhere from 416,471 to 689,233 students were likely eligible.

The rush to get the word out underscores advocates’ long-held frustration with the federal government, which they say blocks many students from vital food aid — a policy holdover from the 1970s when most college students in the U.S. were thought to be well-off.

Today, far more students from low-income families attend college — and need food assistance that most don’t get. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 127,000 California college students received CalFresh, even though anywhere from 416,471 to 689,233 students were likely eligible, according to a 2020 state report that relied on 2018-2019 data. In the same year, according to the California Student Aid Commission, 1 in 3 students reported experiencing food insecurity in any given month.

The low participation rate has made college students a group of particular focus for policymakers and anti-hunger advocates in California, which already struggles to deliver food aid to all who qualify. Only about 70% of Californians who are eligible for food stamps receive them, compared to about 82% for the rest of the nation.

There’s evidence the expanded eligibility rules led to more college students receiving CalFresh. In December 2020, a month before the temporary new rules kicked in, nearly 120,000 college students in California were receiving CalFresh. By September 2021, that number grew to over 140,000, according to the California Department of Social Services, citing its most recent data in an email to CalMatters.

Groceries from the CalFresh program on Jocelyn Gonzalez Fierro’s kitchen counter at her residence in Chico on March 15, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

The department said it lacks the data to know how many students will lose CalFresh benefits once the health emergency ends.

The expanded eligibility triggered a huge jump in student applications. On the 48 campuses where the Center for Healthy Communities works, the number of students applying for food aid jumped from 2,963 in late summer of 2020 to 12,051 a year later and just over 16,000 in late summer 2022.

But because of complex eligibility rules, students often have their food aid applications denied by county welfare departments, which administer CalFresh on behalf of the state. For example, Simonaro said the state told the center only about half the applications it has helped students submit are approved.

Food assistance eligibility

Under a 1977 federal law, most college students are ineligible for food assistance by default.

It’s a rule based on outdated notions of who’s attending college, advocates say.

“There was definitely an image of traditional college students … that they were 18- and 19-year-olds right out of high school, with no dependents being supported by their parents even if they weren’t living with them,” said Elizabeth Lower-Basch, deputy executive director for policy at the left-leaning Center for Law and Social Policy.

Students who are enrolled in classes at least half-time and are between the ages of 18 and 49 can normally only get food aid if they work at least 20 hours a week — an amount of time that some research says ultimately hurts students academically.

Or, they must satisfy one of roughly a dozen narrow exemptions, such as being a single parent, having a disability or enrolling in specific academic and workforce training programs. Students also then need to meet the program’s regular income requirements: a maximum of about $27,000 a year for a single-person household, not including grants, loans and scholarships, and then a second income test.

The patchwork of eligibility criteria and exemptions hits community college students in particular.

Some students receiving the state’s main financial aid award — the Cal Grant — qualify for food assistance if they also meet income and campus meal plan requirements. California pays for the awards with some federal welfare funds, and anyone receiving a welfare-funded program can also get CalFresh.

But the shortcut only applies to Cal Grant students who attend a California State University, University of California or a private college — and not to the vast majority of community college students. That’s because only Cal Grant awards that cover tuition are funded with welfare dollars. Cal Grants for community college students don’t pay for tuition but instead provide them cash awards, which don’t qualify for federal welfare funding. Federal rules say financial aid can lead to CalFresh eligibility only if the aid covers tuition and course fees. As a result, most community college students can get CalFresh through the Cal Grant only after they transfer to a four-year university in California.

California lawmakers could change this, a Century Foundation researcher argued in a 2020 report, by using federal welfare funds to pay for the Promise Grant, a tuition waiver nearly 1 million community college students receive. That would allow those students easy eligibility for food assistance if they also meet the income rules.California has added ways for students to qualify for aid. For example, a 2021 law requires campuses to tell the state which academic programs could boost students’ abilities to get jobs — programs that would allow students to get CalFresh. To date, thousands of programs are on the list.

Student confusion

Chico State senior Jocelyn Gonzalez Fierros only learned she was eligible for CalFresh because the university emailed her to say she met one of the pandemic-induced expanded eligibility criteria.

She’s still receiving CalFresh this year, but under a different exception: Because her parents’ incomes rose, she’s no longer getting the state financial aid, but still qualifies for food assistance through her job as an outreach coordinator for the Center for Healthy Communities.“It’s very confusing just because your situation can change within a course of six months,” Fierros said.

Researchers and college aid administrators said beleaguered counties can create additional roadblocks for students seeking aid.Because county agencies are funded based on how many people already receive aid and not how many apply, welfare officials say they’re understaffed for surges in student applications, which can take longer to process and are harder to qualify because of the student eligibility rules.

It took Raksha Rajeshmohan, 19, two tries to get CalFresh, despite easily qualifying because she works two part-time jobs on top of taking a full courseload at UC Berkeley.

The second-year public health student applied for CalFresh online after hearing about it from a friend. She had trouble her first attempt. A letter from the agency scheduling a phone interview arrived a week late; she said the phone call never came. After waiting more than a month, she got a denial letter for turning in images rather than documents of her paystubs.

An agency spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Rajeshmohan was approved for CalFresh this January after turning in more detailed documentation. The roughly $250 a month she gets allows her to pick more nutritious, costlier foods at the store, and pack lunches rather than skipping them.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if students studying other things or who don’t have knowledge about this program aren’t as motivated to apply and see it through,” she said. “I think the way that the system is laid out is quite confusing.”

What’s next

Once a student receives CalFresh under the expanded criteria, they’ll continue getting the food aid until they have to recertify their eligibility — usually after about a year.

But students who have already enrolled under the expanded criteria will need to recertify that they’re eligible under the more limited list starting this July. It’s likely that many students will lose eligibility, but the department of social services did not know just how many would drop off the aid.

“If they don’t meet another exemption and are still looked at as a student (when it’s time to recertify eligibility) then they will no longer be eligible, which is really scary,” Simonaro said.While the state cannot change federal eligibility rules, it is working to ease the process of renewing or applying for CalFresh.

Already 45 counties are accepting public benefits applications, including for food aid, on a new website called BenefitsCal.com with a student-friendly section as well. By November, all 58 counties are expected to be using the site. For the first time, applicants can schedule appointments with their county case managers digitally, message them online, update their address or report a change in their circumstances.

The website also allows users to upload and receive all their necessary documents to maintain their eligibility. Moving more of the process online should help students, Garcia of UC Berkeley said. Last week she met a student who for six months had been approved for benefits but didn’t know it. The student never got a call or letter from the county informing them of their benefits.

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Susan Louise Vandermeer — beloved sister and sister-in-law; awesome aunt, great-aunt and cousin; kind and faithful friend, co-worker, and neighbor — passed away peacefully at home on the afternoon of March 10, 2023. She was surrounded by her family, who were holding her hands and sharing “Susie memories.”

Susan was born in Everett, Washington, on April 17, 1955, to Fred and Louise Vandermeer. As a child she grew up with two brothers, Steven and Cy, while her father worked as a teacher. When Susan was two years old the family moved to Southern California, and in 1963 they moved to Felton, near Santa Cruz. She graduated from San Lorenzo Valley High School in 1973 and attended Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, where she sang with the Chamber Singers and met dear lifelong friends David LoVine and Bobbi Mitchell. Susan had a beautiful and confident Alto voice. She later also attended Modesto Junior College and College of the Redwoods.

Over the years Susan (who was an absolute foodie!) worked in restaurants; in a hardware store in Utah, where she was a purchasing agent; at Orchard Supply Hardware in Modesto, where she was a supervisor and assistant manager; at a bank in Modesto, where she was an assistant to the Vice President; and in the Humboldt County District Attorney’s office, where she worked as a Legal Office Assistant and Community Services Officer from February, 2005, until her retirement on May 22, 2020.

Susan formed many deep and lasting friendships during her years in Humboldt County. As a member of the legal community, she was a longtime member of the Humboldt County Legal Professionals Association, maintaining her membership after her retirement. She had a love of music and enjoyed going to concerts and theater events with friends, and learned how to play the dulcimer during her retirement. Susan was an excellent cook, and there are many of us who remember the wonderful spiced nuts and toffee she made at Christmas time. Susan also was a skilled quilter and received a ribbon for one of her quilts in a show.

She loved scrapbooking. As the family historian, Susan was the keeper of the records and photographs, and she was the one who kept in communication with her extended family. Susan got together often with her Vandermeer cousins and attended several reunions. After she fell ill, Susan prepared several folders and boxes of mementos and photos for her nieces and nephews in anticipation of her passing.

Susan is survived by her brother Cy Vandermeer and his wife Julie of Dallas, Oregon; sister-in-law Liz Vandermeer of McKinleyville; niece Katie Baker and her husband David of Washougal, Washington; niece Abby McCourt and her husband Tyler of Dallas, Oregon; nephew Jim Vandermeer and his wife Annie of Woodland Park, Colorado; nephews Aaron Vandermeer of McKinleyville and Cy Vandermeer and his wife Laura of Arcata; and 17 great-nieces and great-nephews, in addition to numerous cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Steve. A private family service will be held at a later date.

We miss and love you, dear Susan. Godspeed.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Susan Vandermeer’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

We are saddened to announce the sudden passing of Kevin Charles Elderkin, 71 years old. He passed away unexpectedly on February 20, 2023 and will be missed dearly.

Kevin was born on November 21, 1951 to Charles and Dorothy Elderkin. He was raised in Valley Stream, New York, until his family relocated to Southern California, in his early teens. He attended Eisenhower High School, then graduated from Cal State Fullerton and later married his loving wife, Linda, in 1976. Kevin and Linda relocated to Washington, and then eventually moved back to California where they became long-time residents of Ferndale and built their dream home. Kevin worked for New York Life Insurance Co. and was a local farrier, until he pursued a career with State Farm Insurance. He dedicated his career to State Farm, where he served as an agent to the local community for over 43 years.

Kevin was highly active in his life and enjoyed spending time with his family, working on his property, and raising his horses and Alaskan Malamute dogs. He enjoyed western movies and building wooden ship models, and he was passionate about early American history. Kevin looked forward to his daily talks with his three children and telling jokes to his grandchildren. He had a profound sense of humor, was quick to tell a funny story and will be remembered for his integrity, whit, kindness, and overall good nature. Kevin was focused on family and was a proud father, loving husband and grandfather, and a supportive father-in-law. He was the most hardworking and dedicated father who loved unconditionally and did everything in his will to provide his family with the best. We are forever grateful for that.

He will be forever remembered and cherished by his loving wife of over 47 years, Linda, and his three children — Ryan (Jennifer) Elderkin, Courtney (Mike) Acorn, and Brittany (Silverio) Garcia. He is also survived by his sister, Patricia (Mike) Russell. Kevin is preceded in death by his parents, Charles and Dorothy. He was the proud grandpa to five beautiful grandchildren who he adored dearly, Charlotte, Loclynn, Irelynn, Lillian and Kevin.

Kevin will be greatly missed by many. Private family services will be held at a later date. Condolences can be sent to the family address below: PO Box 398 Fortuna, CA 95540.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Kevin Elderkin’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.