CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Federal workers in Kentucky and Tennessee are finding support through emergency resource fairs as the government shutdown enters its second month.
While many active duty military service members are getting paid during the shutdown, much of the federal civilian workforce is not. County leaders said that amounts to thousands of people in their communities who have seen their income disappear.
“We’re over a month now, 35 days since their last paycheck. They made their mortgage payments last month. This month, it’s questionable whether they can make it or not,” said Shannon Lane, director of military affairs for the Christian County Chamber of Commerce.
This week, leaders with Montgomery County, Tennessee, and Christian County, Kentucky’s Chamber of Commerce, are teaming up to put on some emergency resource fairs to help the thousands of federal workers who are furloughed and aren’t getting paid.
“This is a stressful time to go every day, holding your breath, watching the news, seeing if they’re going to pass a budget so they can even get paid, so they can pay the rest of their bills,” Lane said.
Many local organizations are stepping up to help, attending the resource fairs.
Pennyrile Electric is allowing furloughed federal workers to delay utility payments if needed, as long as they provide documentation.
A special Centerstone Clinic that serves military families attended the fairs; they won’t turn people away due to financial need.
The fairs also connect people to services they may not know about, such as calling 211 for United Way resources in their area.
“Those that are impacted right now by the government shutdown, really are those that are traditionally getting a steady paycheck,” said Michelle Hueffmeier, director of communications and marketing for Montgomery County.
Even military families receiving paychecks are attending the fairs as a precaution.
“As someone whose husband is active duty, we are still getting paid. But the uncertainty makes us want to be prepared, just in case anything does happen,” said Faith Daugherty, an attendee on Tuesday.
Lane hopes the resource fairs will help federal workers until the government reopens.
An Additional resource fair is scheduled for Wednesday at Valor Hall in Oak Grove from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Then on Friday and Saturday, the fairs will be held at the Montgomery County Public Library.
Click here for more information about the emergency resource fairs.
This story was reported on-air by journalist Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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