WASHINGTON–Credit unions are likely to see more members who are federal employees who are currently furloughed taking advantage of emergency loans and other relief than CUs have been seen in prior government shutdowns, especially in the greater Washington market.
Several media reports have noted long lines at food banks in Washington/Maryland/Virginia as federal workers who have now missed their first paychecks look for help.
‘Take Anything I Can Get’
“With my rent due next week, I can take anything I can get,” Summer Kerksick, a federal contractor and market research analyst with the Rural Export Center in the U.S. Department of Commerce, told CNN while waiting in one line. “I haven’t gotten a paycheck this month, so the free groceries is very important, very helpful…I’ve got to save every dime at this point.”
Kerksick is among the roughly 1.4 million federal employees who have been furloughed or are now working without pay, the report noted.
As the CU Daily has been reporting, there appears to be no end in sight with lawmakers entrenched in their positions, and that means credit union members who in the past did not need any of the assistance programs available to them will need the help soon if an agreement isn’t reached.
‘Overwhelmed by the Line’
Capital Area Food Bank, which partnered with No Limits Outreach Ministries to host an event in Landover, Md., said it served more than 370 households — more than double the number of federal workers it was expecting, according to CNN and NBC.
The event required federal employees to show their work ID to receive food.
“I’m overwhelmed by the line,” Oliver Carter, the pastor at No Limits Outreach Ministries and organizer of the event, told the media. “I didn’t think we were going to have this many federal employees.”
Carter’s wife, Pamelia Carter, works at the Department of Agriculture and has worked in the federal government for 38 years and seen several shutdowns.
Coworkers are Present
“I’ve run into quite a few coworkers here,” Pamelia Carter, the executive director of No Limits Outreach Ministries, told CNN, adding that the event was “different” than the food outreach events the religious organization hosts every Friday. “There are at least 2 to 300 people in this line that we’re servicing today, federal employees. It’s mind-boggling.”
