The government shutdown is in its 17th day, affecting about 800,000 federal employees who are working without pay or are furloughed. One of those employees is a Northeast Ohio native who moved to Washington, D.C. last fall.
Tallmadge native Nick Freeman-Clark joined the U.S. Department of Transportation as a contractor in October. But right now, he’s looking for temporary work, and maxing out what little paid leave he has. The 28-year-old also has Type I Diabetes. He says he’s got health coverage — for now — but out-of-pocket costs are becoming a concern.
“The insulin, insulin pump components, all the test strips—it’s all quite a lot of money that was sustainable when you’re gainfully employed. But very quickly it becomes a major pain point.”
Freeman-Clark says his department has also been told they can file for unemployment during the shutdown. But he and his co-workers would rather just get back to their jobs at the DOT.
We’d like to hear stories about how others in Northeast Ohio are being affected by the partial government shutdown. You can email us at news@wksu.org.
