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I have heard from many federal employees who are either furloughed or working without pay since the shutdown began. The current situation is a true hardship on our dedicated civil servants and their families and I will continue to support legislation and actions that will bring do everything possible to fund and reopen the government.

To date, I have supported numerous bills that together would fully restore funding to agencies that have been impacted by the shutdown, as well as bills that will ensure that all federal employees and some contractors receive back-pay. I will continue to advocate for our federal workforce and seek out solutions to this crisis.

My office has compiled the following information on available resources that might be able to provide assistance to impacted individuals and their families:

FILING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

You must file for unemployment in the jurisdiction in which your employer/employing agency is based. Therefore, even if you live in Virginia, if you work in DC, that is where you would file. This is a little trickier if you work at a Virginia or Maryland office of a federal agency because you would need to determine where your employer/agency is based. Please look at your 2017 W-2 or at a current paycheck stub to check the address of the employer that is listed. Once you determine the location of your employer, you can sign up for unemployment on-line through one of the below links:

For Virginia: http://www.vec.virginia.gov/node/9998
For DC: https://does.dcnetworks.org/claimantservices/Logon.aspx


COUNTY RESOURCES:

Fairfax County Coordinated Services is the clearing house for a variety of assistance. Please call 703-222-0880 or click here for additional information.

Prince William County Department of Social Services can be reached at 703-792-7500.

Northern Virginia Family Service provides financial and other assistance to Prince William and Fairfax Counties as well as the entire Northern Virginia region. Please call the shutdown hotline at 571-748-2552 or click https://www.nvfs.org/shutdown-help/ for additional information.


FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:

A number of banks and credit unions have announced low- or no- interest loan programs for federal employees impacted by the shutdown. Please contact Northern Virginia Family Services (see above) for a listing of participating financial institutions. You may also want to contact your bank or credit union directly to determine if it is offering any assistance.


FOOD ASSISTANCE:

Note: Most food banks (except the Neighborhood Sites listed here) require referral from Fairfax County Coordinated Services Planning. In Fairfax County, please call the office of Coordinated Services Planning at 703-222-0880 or click here for additional information. In Prince William County, please call the PW Department of Social Services at 703-792-7500.

Other food assistance programs include:

• Cornerstones is opening their food bank/pantry for access to those with federal IDs. The referral process will be expedited for impacted federal employees. Please call 571-323-1400.

• Lorton Community Action Center’s pantry is always open but serves a limited area. Please visit the following site to see hours and types of assistance it can provide: https://lortonaction.org/assistance-programs/

• Capital Area Food Bank provides a listing of assistance available in areas throughout the region. Please see: https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/get-help/ for additional information.


UTILITY AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES:

Dominion Energy offers a number of different options for customers who are experiencing high winter bills. Customers can make arrangements through their online account at www.dominionenergy.com or by calling 866-366-4357.

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative will defer all disconnections and late fees will not be imposed on federal employees who are either furloughed or working without pay. Please call 703-335-0500.

Washington Gas will offer a number of different options for Federal Employees affected by the shutdown. To view the available programs, please click here. 

Cox Communications has announced payment options that would provide additional time to pay. For more information call 1-800-234-3993 or visit: www.cox.com/chat.

Verizon has announced a program for Federal Employees who are impacted by the shutdown to be able to pay their bills in a flexible manner during the shutdown. Please click here for additional information. 

T-Mobile is providing short term assistance including payment deferral. Please call 1-877-746-0909

Sprint will try to be flexible with federal employees impacted by the shutdown. Please call 1-888-211-4727 or click here for additional information.


This list will be updated as my office becomes aware of other resources. Please do not hesitate to contact my office Fairfax office at 703-256-3071 or my Prince William office at 571-408-4407 if we can provide any other information of assistance.