resources during
government shutdown

Food Assistance

1.) Capital Area Food Bank
a. https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/dmv-help/?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%252
b. Tuesdays, from noon to 2 p.m. No Limits Outreach Ministries, located at 7721 Barlowe Rd, Hyattsville, Maryland 20785
c. Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. So What Else, located at 6001 Executive Blvd., North Bethesda, Maryland
d. Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. United Community, located at 7511 Fordson Rd, Alexandria, Virginia 22306
e. Fridays, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Urban Outreach, located at 5343 C St SE, D.C. 20019
f. Saturdays, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Linda Ben Foundation, located at 10739 Tucker St, Beltsville, Maryland 20705

2.) Southern Maryland Food Bank
a. https://www.catholiccharitiesdc.org/program/southern-maryland-food-bank/
b. 22A Irongate Drive, Waldorf, MD 20602
c. (301) 274-0695

3.) Maryland Food Bank (enter your zip code to find locations near you)
a. https://mdfoodbank.org/find-food/

4.) Bread for the City
a. https://breadforthecity.org/food/
b. Northwest Food Pantry, 1525 7th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
c. Southeast Food Pantry, 1700 Marion Barry Ave SE, Washington, DC 20020

5.) Mount Paran Baptist Church Food Pantry (grand opening Saturday, 10/25 12pm – 2pm)
a. 6413 Old Alexandria Ferry Road, Clinton, MD 20735
b. (301) 877-3300

6.) Nourish Now - works with local churches to provide food assistance
https://nourishnow.org/receive-food-assistance/

7.) St. Stephen Baptist Church – food giveaways Tuesdays 11am – 3pm
5757 Temple Hill Road, Temple Hills, MD 20748

8.) The José Andrés Group: free dine-in lunch
a. (11:30 am – 3:00 pm, Mon–Fri)
b. https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/jose-andresrestaurants-in-dc-offer-free-lunch-to-federal-workers-during-governmentshutdown/

9.) Feeding America: These guys have a nationwide network of 200 food banks. From those food banks, they have 60,000 partner pantries from which they can serve every community across the United States. This is an awesome resource, and they have already begun serving Federal employees affected by the government shutdown.

10.) Your School District: To save on food and ensure your kid eats breakfast and/or lunch free (less stress and worry for you), notify the district of your furlough. No income is an emergency and normally qualifies you for the free meal program.

Utilities

1.) Washington Gas
 The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, provides grants to help families pay for their gas bills. The program application reopened Wednesday through the Department of Energy and Environment.

2.) WSSC
- Maryland’s largest water utility will suspend service turnoffs and waive late fees for customers directly impacted by the government shutdown, according to a news release.
- Lyn Riggins, a WSSC spokesperson, told WTOP that customers of the water utility company are “not going to have to worry about a water service turn off,” if they can’t pay their bills during the shutdown.
- Riggins said the water utility’s Get Current program, which offers forgiveness for a portion of a customer’s bill, and which was to have
wrapped up at the end of October, is being extended by a month.

3.) PEPCO
- Flexible payment options: Both companies offer payment arrangements up to 12 months and budget billing plans, according to a news release.
- Late payment charge waivers: Affected customers can get a 30-day waiver on late payment charges in increments.
- Proactive resources: Pepco has an Assistance Finder tool and Single Stop, which helps customers find programs they may qualify for.
- Pepco and BGE said customers won’t be asked to provide a government ID to get access to support.
Details from Pepco can be found on their website.

4.) BGE
- Flexible payment options: Both companies offer payment arrangements up to 12 months and budget billing plans, according to a news release.
- Late payment charge waivers: Affected customers can get a 30-day waiver on late payment charges in increments.
- Pepco and BGE said customers won’t be asked to provide a government ID to get access to support.
- BGE has a self-service Assistance Finder.
- Details from BGE can be found here.

5.) SMECO
- Offering extended payment arrangements for members having difficulty paying their electric bills
- Waiving otherwise applicable late payment fees and good-faith payments normally required to establish a payment plan
- Suspending disconnections for nonpayment for impacted customers
- Providing referrals to local energy assistance programs
- https://www.smeco.coop/news-releases/smeco-offers-support-formembers-
impacted-by-federal-government-shutdown/

Cell Phone Service Providers

1.) AT&T: Will assist with adjusting late fees, providing extensions, and revising payment schedules.

2.) Sprint: Will provide short-term payment solutions. Call 1-888-211-4747

3.) T-Mobile: Offering short-term assistance and can spread out service payments over time. Call 1-877-746-0909 or 611 from a T-Mobile device.

4.) Verizon: Offering flexible payment options and has a Promise to Pay program to set payments for a future date. Call 1-866-266-1445.

Insurance

1.) MetLife: For those not receiving a paycheck from the federal government because of the current shutdown, MetLife Auto & Home may grant a one-time, 30-day grace period on your payment of premium on a MetLife Auto & Home policy. Members must request this one-time allowance by calling 1-800-GET-MET8. Certain restrictions apply, and premium remains due after delay expires.

2.) Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company: To help the nearly 27,000 AFGE members who currently have a policy with the company during this government shutdown, the company “will keep the policy-in-force by waving the cost of insurance charges for the next 30 days.”. Policies beginning with the letter "Y" call: 844-800-9146, all other policies call: 888-513-8797
 

Car Repairs

Federal employees who own a Ford, Lincoln, or Mazda vehicle can now schedule a free oil change, tire rotation and inspection — performed by certified Koons technicians at the employee’s home. These vehicles do not need to have been purchased from a Koons
dealership. Any furloughed government employee that owns a Ford, Lincoln or Mazda is eligible. The service includes: full oil change, tire rotation, multi-point inspection with technician video, and digital winter-readiness inspection report.
https://koonsmotors.com/federal-employee-assistance

Recreational

1.) Washington Wizards tickets
https://www.wusa9.com/article/sports/nba/wizards/wizards-furloughed-federal-workers-500-free-tickets/65-7f59dcee-f1f0-45dc-a9b5-9452447de0c0

2.) The Lewis Museum - Free Admission for Federal Workers
https://www.instagram.com/p/DP3o1jQkSLs/

Legal Assistance

1.) Office of People’s Counsel
a. https://opc.maryland.gov/

2.) Maryland
a. https://response.maryland.gov/federalpublicservants/legal-resources-federalemployment-rules-and-regulations

3.) Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service
a. https://mvlslaw.org/free-legal-help/

4.) Maryland Pro Bono Resource Center
a. https://probonomd.org/

5.) Maryland Center for Legal Assistance
a. https://www.mdcla.org/probono/

6.) Maryland Legal Aid
a. https://www.mdlab.org/

Housing

1.) Contact your mortgage company! They may be able to assist with forbearance or payment options. With a furlough verification letter, mortgage companies may move the current month’s payment to the end of the loan term without penalty. OPM created sample letters for Federal workers to contact their landlords, mortgage lenders, and utilities, to request help during the shutdown.

2.) National Rental Home Council: Represents many of the nation’s largest operators of single-family rental homes. They’re offering deferred rent payment options with no late fees to any renter who has been furloughed.

3.) Maryland Crisis Assistance Program
a. https://211md.org/resources/housing-shelter/

4.) Maryland Housing Resources
https://response.maryland.gov/federalpublicservants/housing-resources

Financial Assistance

1.) Navy Federal Credit Union is offering eligible members that may be impacted by paycheck disruptions during the shutdown maximum $6,000 loans based on how much the last eligible direct deposit was.  Call 1-888-842-6328

2.) PenFed Credit Union is offering paycheck protection loans, payment skips and assistance for home loans.

3.) USAA is helping members with 0% interest loans up to $6,000, and special payment arrangements for auto and property insurance premiums as well as life and health insurance.  Also offering deferments for all loans and credit card payments.

4.) First Command is offering a 0% annual percentage rate pay advance loan with no fees or interest charges.

5.) Truist Bank – Customers with direct deposit accounts may also be eligible for cash advances for the immediate future. www.truist.com

6.) Bank of America: announced assistance available to furloughed Federal employees. Call the priority assistance line 844.219.0690.

7.) Chase Bank: Chase today announced efforts to help its customers who are U.S. government employees affected by the U.S. government shutdown. Here’s the special line they set up 1-888-356-0023.

8.) Congressional Federal Credit Union: For more information on our Relief Line of Credit or any of our assistance programs, contact our Member Service Representatives at 800-491-2328 or stop by one of our branch locations.

9.) Fed Choice: They’re offering quite a few different options to assist – for existing and new members.

10.) Interior Federal Credit Union: They’re offering a special loan for both member and non-member furloughed Federal workers. Net paycheck up to $15,000, interest free up to 30 days. Members may apply for a limit up to the equivalent of 2 net paychecks. More offers are available on the site or call 800-914-8619

11.) PayPal: PayPal has made a very generous offer. They’ve allocated $25 million to fund interest-free cash advances to our furloughed Federal workers that need assistance right now. This is for both new and existing PayPal Credit customers. Minimum loan is $250 with a maximum cash advance of $500. Your account does need to be in good standing if you’re an existing PayPal Credit customer. Existing customers call 1-877-689-1975. For new accounts, apply here first, then after approval call 1-877-689-1975.

12.) U.S. Bank: Will waive all late fees if you miss a mortgage payment due to the shutdown. Also mentioned they will defer first payment dates for new mortgages.

13.) U.S. Employees Credit Union: USECU is also offering shutdown loans, but only until Tuesday, January 15th. Call (312) 922.5310 to get help.

14.) SunTrust: SunTrust didn’t make a specific offer, but they did make a public announcement that they have programs in place to help clients affected by the shutdown.

15.) Synchrony Bank: These guys handle store cards for Amazon, Lowes, Walmart, JCPenney, Chevron/Texaco, and many other large nationwide companies that you might do business with on a day-to-day basis. They are allowing affected customers to defer payments until after the shutdown. Contact them for more information.

16.) Union Plus: For union members, there are a great number of options available if you’re with Union Plus. Call them at 800-472-2005 to ask about these offers: $300 Furlough Grant for eligible Union Plus credit card holders, Mortgage Assistance Loan & $300 Grant: payment grace period for your Union Plus Life and Accident Insurance, payment grace period for Union Plus Auto Insurance, and payment grace period for Union Plus Life and Accident Insurance.

17.) Wells Fargo: Assistance lines are available at Wells Fargo. They’ve got a few different options to help depending on the services you have with their bank.

Furlough Grants:

1.) FEEA-NARFE: This is an awesome offer that every furloughed Federal worker needs to take advantage of. FEEA-NARFE fund is offering $100 grants to active federal employee members who are not receiving a paycheck during the current shutdown due to being furloughed or working in excepted status. To apply, visit the FEEA website.
Thrift Savings Plan

2.) TSP Plan News and Announcements: TSP allows for the suspension of loan payments when you go into non-pay status. They do not require documentation about your furlough currently. Missing one or two payments will not cause your loan to go into default. Log in to your account to check your status or simply call the Thrift Line at 1-877-968-3778.

3.) Toyota Financial Services & Lexus Financial Services: Affected lease and finance customers in good standing with their accounts may be eligible to take advantage of up to two months of finance contract payment extensions or lease deferred payments. Toyota Financial Services call 800-874-8822 and Lexus Financial Services call 800-874-7050.

4.) Hyundai Capital: Hyundai will extend all Hyundai Capital auto loans and lease payments for 30 days for current Hyundai owners who are federal government employees furloughed during the shutdown. Impacted consumers should contact Hyundai Motor Finance at 1-800-523-4030 to take advantage of this offer.

5.) Kia Motors Finance: Kia has announced they’re offering deferred payments of 30 days. If you’ve been affected by the current Government Shutdown and need assistance from Kia Finance, please contact us at 1-866-331-5632.

6.) Ford Credit, GM Financial, & Mercedes-Benz Financial Services: It has been reported that these companies are among those providing qualified customers options such as payment deferrals, late fee waivers and special care lines to address their individual problems, though official announcements from these companies have not been released online.

Employment / Business

1.) Unemployment
a. https://labor.maryland.gov/unemployment-insurance/claimants/federal-employees/frequently-asked-questions.shtml

b. Furloughed employees or federal contractors (who are not working and are not being paid) may be eligible for state unemployment insurance benefits.

c. Individuals who are found eligible can receive up to $430 in weekly benefits (pretax).

d. To apply for unemployment, workers can file online or call 667-207-6520
(Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.). Federal workers should select option #9.

e. Workers should apply for UI benefits in the jurisdiction of their "duty station." This means, for example, that if you are a Marylander who is laid off from a federal job based in Virginia, you should apply for benefits in Virginia. Here are direct links to apply for UI benefits in Maryland; Washington, DC; and Virginia.

2.) Black Women in Business Summit (this event has passed)
https://funnels.womenindigitalbusiness.com/summit-2025--3eede

3.) Temp job at Washington Convention Center - October 26th - 29th, pay is $38/hour. GTC DC Conference.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_IpDyX5Mf266ao7i7Mtqv-nNb2_NaUd083Qia73U47Z9p6A/viewform

4.) Virtual Military & Federal Hiring Opportunity built to connect you directly with employers who value your skills and are ready to hire now. Here’s what to expect:
→ Direct access to employers who value your experience
→ Career opportunities in tech, cybersecurity, operations, project management, and more
→ Resume and interview support to make your application stand out
→ Connections to free training and certification programs
Date: Nov 14
Time: 3PM EST
Location: Virtual REGISTER HERE: https://events.zoom.us/ev/AgCVc7Gq3Z8mIEXHIdeHGK4S3Z3e-LvPjDWzAMFDXq1qbNmebXxY%7EAjRq7lOYfuM6cDAGXcrbBmyKFTgPRXvetojD_QlLtvgeck9x29ZkkKocOg

5.) Free Every Tuesday, it's a great place to meet up and network --> Former government employees co-working @ Eaton House (12th & K)
Date: Tuesdays • 9:00am – 5:00pm
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/former-gov-coworking-eaton-house-12th-k-tickets-1618051277929

6.) Maneva – Black owned executive search also specializing in nonprofits
https://www.manevagroup.com/non-profits-executive-search-firm

7.) Primarily for those in Higher Education, health, environment.
https://www.imsearch.com/current-searches/open-searches

8.) National Council of Nonprofits is the largest coalition of nonprofits.
https://careers.councilofnonprofits.org/

9.) Talent Capital is a regional initiative housed by the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments. Backed by employers, government, and nonprofits, they connect you with
opportunities that fit your skills.
https://talentcapital.ai/

10.) DSG Koya executive job search (nonprofit and social impact positions).
https://www.dsgco.com/industry/nonprofit-and-social-impact/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=wfx_branded&utm_content=wfx_dsg_koya&utm_term=dsg%20koya&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=18705489317&gbraid=0AAAAAo_T-Ro870xqJ9NOuMOUO-UEGXGUz&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6bfHBhDNARIsAIGsqLiUMtAtHNMX8XvXeuAHhc8kqeOGpKAbhMIaKhGQ4CGluxCwRZ4BuqYaArfaEALw_wcB

11.) Former Gov connects former federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign government and military professionals to those who can benefit from their experience. Visit www.formerGov.com. Email them for free year membership.

12.) Feds Forward – supporting federal employees in their transition and growth with resources, community and guidance.
https://www.fedsforward.com/

13.) Southern Maryland Job Source
https://southernmarylandjobsource.org/

14.) Maryland Workforce Exchange
https://mwejobs.maryland.gov/vosnet/JobBanks/JobSearchCriteriaQuick.aspx


Career Coaching/Training

1.) John Riordan is an executive and global leadership coach who is offering free support for feds. It might be best to message him on LinkedIn or you can go through his firms site.  Referred by Malena Brookshire.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/john-riordan-91b57110_federalworkers-activity-7386746177544937472-3xzR?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAD24LUBgGAXhiZRDt1Osx8ZqVLeBl4oJmw

2.) George Washington’s College of Professional Studies Talent Capital for Displaced Federal Workers
https://www.cps.gwu.edu/gws-college-professional-studies-joins-regional-partnerslaunch-talent-capital-displaced-federal

3.) Free career training
https://www.coursera.org/enterprise/federal-transition

4.) Wellfed offers three recurring weekly virtual programs [Monday meditation, Wednesday workshops and Friday career co-working] designed to provide structure, support, and momentum for professionals navigating career transitions.
https://wearewellfed.com/#events

Veterans

1.) https://response.maryland.gov/federalpublicservants/resources-for-veterans

2.) https://veterans.maryland.gov/Benefits/FinancialSupport/Pages/default.aspx

3.) https://www.va.gov/health-care/manage-appointments

Other Resources

1.) U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Their fact sheet states that federal employees may be eligible for unemployment compensation administered by state unemployment insurance agencies. So, eligibility is determined by state law, not on the Federal level, which may work in your favor.

2.) Maryland Department of Labor info
a. https://labor.maryland.gov/federalworkers/shutdownloan/

3.) Maryland Resources
a. https://response.maryland.gov/federalpublicservants/shutdown

4.) Senator Angela Alsobrooks
a. https://www.alsobrooks.senate.gov/shutdown/

5.) Search by zip code for local resources
a. https://myfedbenefitshelp.com/shutdown-assistance-map/

6.) Furlough Resources
a. https://wtop.com/local/2025/10/help-and-assistance-programs-for-furloughed-federal-workers-in-the-dc-region/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNnea5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuvCTRBmqdhDEJfwdom9HqX_UJQeD6Z8JxQZQwksj3noev5-uoggV76az0LK_aem_Iu4kpJdjWwa1oq5Kb2XZ9g

7.) Free Rail & Commuter Bus Rides
a. https://wtop.com/maryland/2025/10/maryland-will-provide-free-rail-and-commuter-bus-transit-to-federal-workers-during-shutdown/

8.) Charles County Resources
a. https://www.meetcharlescounty.com/government-transition-resources

9.) Calvert County Resources
a. https://www.calvertcountymd.gov/2403/Government-Shutdown-Resource-Guide

10.) Prince George’s County
a. https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/news-events/news/federal-government-shutdown-resources-0

11.) Applying for benefits in Maryland
a. https://ub.benefits.maryland.gov/ub/#/screener
b. https://benefits.maryland.gov/home/#/

12.) Free Pet Exams
a. Palisades Vet Clinic https://www.palisadesvetclinic.com/

13.) Partnership for Public Service
https://ourpublicservice.org/shutdown/resources-for-federal-employees/

14.) Ebenezer AME Church
https://ebenezerame.org/government-shutdown-resources/

15.) Rent-A-Center (Benefits Plus Membership): If your account was up to date at the time of furlough and you are a part of benefits plus you may be eligible for a payment waiver based on your state: “Involuntary Unemployment Payment Waiver: Losing a job is hard and making payments while unemployed is even harder. Fortunately, your Membership waives your payments when you are involuntarily unemployed. Whether you were fired, laid off, suspended, or are out of work due to a labor dispute or strike, your payments are covered for up to four (4) months, up to $1,000, or when you’re able to return to work.”