Hamilton woman in Virginia town sees damage done by 'childish' U.S. shutdown
Laura Howells | CBC News | Posted: January 23, 2019 7:46 PM | Last Updated: January 24, 2019
People are 'doing what they have to do' to make ends meet, she says
A Hamilton woman living near Washington, D.C., is seeing the painful impact of the United States government shutdown, as many in her community struggle to get by without pay.
"It's causing a lot of sleepless night. People don't know how they're going to make ends meet," said Lou-Anne Hemmings, a "proud Hamiltonian" who moved to the U.S. in 2006 when she got married.
Hemmings and her husband now live in Herndon, Va. — a town near Washington, D.C., where she says many people have federal jobs.
Hemmings isn't a federal employee herself, but knows of several people who aren't getting paid — and many are looking for short-term ways to make money.
After a snowstorm last weekend, she said, one man in her neighbourhood was shovelling driveways for extra cash.
"I guess people are doing what they have to do."
On a neighbourhood Facebook page, "someone had posted that if anyone who was furloughed was interested in shovelling their driveway, they were offering them $200," Hemmings said.
When the man took up the offer, others offered to pay him for shovelling as well.
"People were giving $50 or $100 just to help him out," said Hemmings.
"I think everyone is trying to help however they can," she said. "It's just a horrible position for these people to be in."
Community helping out, restaurants offer free food
The ongoing government shutdown over President Donald Trump's demand for a Mexican border wall means hundreds of thousands of federal employees are now working without pay or furloughed (sent home without pay).
In Hemmings's area, "everyone's feeling the pinch," she said.
I guess people are doing what they have to do.
You can see the difference in the streets, she said. Driving to work, the roads aren't nearly as busy as they usually are.
Last Friday, federal workers missed their paycheques, Hemmings said, and now "reality [is] setting in."
People wonder how they'll make their rent or mortgage payment, Hemmings said. They worry about affording groceries or putting gas in their cars.
But the rest of the community is trying to help how they can.
Restaurants in the area are offering free food for affected workers, she said, and people are waiting one or two hours in line.
The food bank where she volunteers asked for extra donations.
A school board set up a job fair offering temporary positions, Hemmings said. She sees other companies offering short-term jobs so furloughed people can have some extra cash.
At her own job, a co-worker's husband was furloughed — so colleagues donated almost $1,000 to help them out, Hemmings said.
Some of the furloughed people Hemmings knows already had part-time serving or bartending jobs, and are trying to pick up extra hours.
People feel 'held hostage'
People are scared, upset, uncertain, feel like they've been "held hostage," said Hemmings.
Many are angry that the shutdown is taking so long to resolve, she said, and there's no end in sight.
"It's not right to have these people in the middle," she said. "It should just be signed and moved forward so that these people can get their pay, get back to normal, and then work on the other things separately."
The majority of people she knows are not Republicans, and think Trump's decision on the shutdown is "childish."
Hemmings said her husband works for a company with a federal government contract, but that doesn't expire until June.
For now, "it's just time for it to be over."