In the wake of the government shutdown that started last Wednesday, hitting the pause button on paychecks for active-duty military personnel and curtailing some veterans' benefits, San Diego's local organizations have swiftly mobilized to offer support. The Times of San Diego reports that a quintet of community groups, namely, the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC), Feeding San Diego, Armed Services YMCA, Zero8Hundred, and the Support The Enlisted Project (STEP), announced plans to furnish essentials like food and financial aid, as well as reinforce emotional well-being for service members and their families.
As a testament to their commitment and foresight, David Boone, president and CEO of SDMAC, conveyed that preparations for the recent government shutdown were initiated three weeks prior, propelled by the turbulence rooted in our nation's politics and the experience gleaned from the 2019 shutdown, "We knew it was coming," Boone remarked, per the Times of San Diego, stressing the importance of readiness for the coalition forged amongst these organizations.
Feeding San Diego has witnessed a spike in the number of families seeking food distribution services, with counts amassing to their peak last September and anticipations set for a "step increase" in demand as per Robert Kamensky, the CEO of the organization, such that the existing resources might be seriously stressed, although not overwhelmed. These sentiments were echoed in a report by KPBS, as they highlighted that over 180,000 households were catered to by Feeding San Diego just last month, an amount projected to surge in light of the shutdown.
In parallel, Tracy Owens from Support The Enlisted Project (STEP), in a statement to the Times of San Diego, provided insights on the brewing fiscal constraints, "It's scary when you're not getting paid," underscoring the heightened anxiety such financial disruption stirs among military families; STEP's social workers are bracing for a swell in cases and STEP has also recorded an uptick in financial need over recent months. Likewise, according to KPBS, financial institutions like USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union offer interest-free loans to new members during the impasse to alleviate some of the burden.
