CAMDEN, S.C. — Residents of Camden say they have been walking to their mailboxes and leaving empty-handed and are growing frustrated with the delay.
"For the past 6 months, I guess, maybe even more, we haven't been getting mail on a sometimes-daily basis," said Camden resident Emily Volz.
"When I called up there to ask, we don't even have a permanent driver for our route and was told because of the holidays they're not even gonna hire for our route yet," Camden resident Anna-Margaret Floyd said. "It's very difficult when you can't find it. I'm even having packages shipped to my friend in Columbia because I can't trust the mail here right now."
Both women live on different sides of the city and say they are concerned with the issues, especially as the busiest week for the post office is approaching.
In a statement released to News 19, the United States Postal Service (USPS) said, "We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced by customers in the Camden communities. We can report that all mail received at the Camden Post Office is being delivered daily. Like many other businesses right now, the postal service in Camden is experiencing temporary staffing issues."
"I know that the workforce is very hard to get into nowadays and so now I just hope we can get those people so we can get our mail," Volz said.
Postal officials said they are addressing the shortage through hiring fairs in Camden and across the state."