{"id":596497,"date":"2023-10-03T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/?p=596497"},"modified":"2023-10-03T19:46:22","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T23:46:22","slug":"government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joangarry.com\/government-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"The Human Cost of a Government Shutdown: A Call to Action for Nonprofits"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I\u2019m old enough that I watch the evening news. Sometimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

OK, often.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nonprofits get less than 3 minutes at the very end of 30 minutes of tragedy, political shenanigans, indictments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest headline over the past week? The government shutdown. And I am hopping mad at David Muir and all the rest of you who are covering this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I see one more story or another one-minute piece of b-roll<\/a> footage about Kevin McCarthy or politicians, I\u2019ll scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The threat of a government shutdown – now once again less than 30 days away – is like some perverse game of Jenga. But the media presents these Jenga pieces as abstract and of minor consequence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jenga pieces are about so much more than just about inconveniences at the airport or a spoiled trip to a national park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jenga pieces are real people in crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shame on everyone on either side of the aisle whose power comes from those who vote, those who pay taxes, those who struggle to make ends meet, those who live with chronic illnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shame on every journalist who thinks this story is about our divisive and terrifyingly dysfunctional government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not about a thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s about people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People struggling to make ends meet who won\u2019t get paid – that alone should be enough to do everything possible to avoid a shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The WIC (Women, Infants, Children) program<\/a> will cease immediately. This program serves 7 MILLION moms and kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12.5% of Americans receive SNAP benefits<\/a> to supplement their grocery bills. If a shutdown goes longer than 30 days, 40 million Americans will have nowhere to turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizations that rely on government funding already experience crippling delays in receiving funds for services provided. And that is when the government is \u2018working.\u2019  30% of the 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S. will find themselves shutting down services because the cash just isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT CAN WE DO?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can do what you do best. <\/strong>You can be advocates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because that is what we do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Challenge people to think differently, be first rate storytellers about what this is really about for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And please do what you don\u2019t always do best.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n