WASHINGTON — Four churches in the D.C. metro area handed out more than 400 food baskets to furloughed workers in need Saturday.
Leonard Hamlin, Canon Missioner with the National Cathedral, said he’s been hearing from people who are scrambling to make ends meet. Hamlin says people are started to get scared as the end of the month closes in.
“We’ve reached a critical point where they’ve exhausted all of their finances," Hamlin said.
Hamlin also said the effects are starting to ripple through the wider community as well.
“We have heard individuals talking about it. Now these same individuals are talking about it because they’re in it," he explained.
Hatima Covington, a single mother of four, has been on furlough from her job with the Securities and Exchange Commission since the first of January.
Covington told WUSA9 she’s trying to keep her head above water by doing some jobs on the side, but she’s still worried about "food, utilities and how [she's] going to pay rent.”
Covington said she’s looking for a new and more stable job, since there doesn’t seem to be a way through the impasse anytime soon.
“I don’t think the President is seeing how stressful this is," she explained. "I really believe he’s kind of out of touch with reality. And the reality is that for so many of us it’s killing us.”
The National Cathedral is currently raising money to help support furloughed workers. Here's how you can help.