Local agencies, organizations brace for continuing government shutdown

TUCSON, Ariz. - Thousands of federal workers officially missed their first paycheck this past Friday, and local organizations and federally funded agencies are also bracing for the impacts they could see if the shutdown continues.

Our Family Services is a local organization working to eliminate homelessness throughout the community. They do this through placing those in need into housing, however, to be able to do so, they receive funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Beth Morrison, the CEO for Our Family Services, said when they first heard the government would be partially shutting down 24 days ago, she was not too concerned. She added she'd been through government shutdowns before and they always come to an end, but as this shutdown barreled through its third week, worry was starting to set in.

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Morrison said that despite showing up to work Friday morning and seeing their funding for the month of December had come through, she couldn't help but think about funding for the month of January and whether they'd have access to that.

"We've been looking at our cash flow, we've been looking at how long will those dollars kind of extend as an agency so we don't have to do any programatic changes or staffing changes, so that was part of it. The other part of it was really looking at what the needs of the community may be and may become over time," Morrison said.

Morrison said Our Family Services is also prepared to step in and help those directly impacted by the shutdown with anything they might need.

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