When a community hits hard times, how people pull together to help one another reflects the quality of its character. This is especially true during natural disasters, of which Hampton Roads has endured its fair share, when the most important thing is ensuring everyone is safe and cared for during a period of tremendous upheaval, stress and pain.
For a region such as this — home to tens of thousands of service members, federal workers and others directly affected by the ongoing federal shutdown — that moment is now. The longer this goes on, the more harm will be inflicted on our region, and the more we’ll need everyone who can to step up and fill the gaps.
Virginia is right to brace itself whenever members of Congress push the government to the brink of a shutdown — or send things right off a cliff. Few states are more affected when lawmakers fail to pass the appropriations bills needed to fund federal operations or even pass a continuing resolution to keep things up and running.
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management reports that, as of September, the commonwealth is home to about 147,000 federal workers. Virginia is also home to about 122,000 active-duty military personnel and about 25,000 reservists, according to the Department of Defense’s June personnel data.
With high concentrations of federal workers and members of the military in Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia, those regions are the hardest hit when the federal spigot is turned off. These are our family members, friends and neighbors who endure the hardship of uncertainty and financial strain that results from a congressional impasse.
Many federal workers were imperiled long before the shutdown. The Trump administration has made deep cuts in agencies that employ thousands of Virginians, causing our unemployment rate to tick up month after month. And as the White House slashed federal spending — illegally in many cases — those businesses which rely on Washington’s support face a grim future.
Add to that the White House’s handling of the shutdown, which has included more layoffs, more legal challenges and more limbo for workers. It’s only been a little more than two weeks, but the reality that this could stretch on for a while — the House will not even meet this week — portends a cloudy future ahead.
For many Hampton Roads families, that poses an enormous challenge. Rising prices have made everything more expensive, and few have the savings on hand to endure a lengthy period without pay. President Donald Trump has also suggested that some furloughed federal workers may not receive back pay, unlike in past shutdowns.
That will leave a lot of people in our region struggling to get by. And it means that those with the means to do so must step up.
Food security will be No. 1 on that list, especially if funding runs out for nutrition assistance programs. The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore held a distribution event for military families on Friday and the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank plans a series of mobile pantry events this month. Both are in need of support, either financial or food donations, and would benefit from public generosity.
For financial support, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society and military aid groups for other branches are providing temporary loans to pay for ongoing needs, while financial institutions associated with the military and/or federal workers — USAA, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Navy Federal Credit Union — have assistance programs available. And Information about unemployment for furloughed workers can be found through the Virginia Employment Commission (vec.virginia.gov).
Most of all, those affected by the shutdown will need a strong support system in our community, which should help when it can and express to federal officials that the harm being inflicted here is unacceptable.
This has been a year of hardship for Hampton Roads and it’s impossible to know when Washington will get its act together. In the meantime, we must show the strength of our community by helping those in need.
