Cousin twice removed, had to be talked back from suicidal emotions after being furloughed.

[allgood33]

He doesn't see how he can keep his home for his family since they were already living on the edge and behind in mortgage because of health issues. Most of us have pitched in but my family is not in the income bracket which allows for much help to those in need financially. We are good, kind and generous with time, food and providing a place to stay but none of us has much disposable income. I suggested he put up a GOFundME. He is almost too shattered to do anything. He is helping in a food pantry today to help others. I am crying here.

[redwitch]

1. I am so sorry!

Financial distress is awful, I hope your cousin can overcome this. I hope he goes back to work soon.

[AndJusticeForSome]

2. There will be tens, hundreds, maybe thousands of such stories

and we will never hear about them. There have possibly already been suicides caused or exacerbated by the shutdown. They will be invisible.

The situation you describe is so common. Everyone thinks that people always have family or other resources available to them in crisis times like these, and it just isn't true.

I know that this shutdown is causing deaths. I know it.

I'm sorry for your situation, and totally understand it.

[mr_lebowski]

3. Soooo ... your first cousin's grandkid?

Sorry for their struggles, honestly though it's also wonderful your family is close enough that you have this level of concern for someone as distantly related as that. A lot of families aren't.

I have 6 cousins once removed, and all are now old enough to have kids (22-35 yo) but not one of them has babies yet. The rest of our small family ... is very much looking forward to some babies ... it's been 22 years since there was a newborn in my immediate family (on my mom's side anyway ... I have two niece/nephews on my dad's, and even 2 cousins twice-removed, but that's a whole separate family).

[cwydro]

4. Perhaps his wife or another close family member could set up the Gofundme.

Hope this travesty of a government pulls its shit together soon.

[Oppaloopa]

6. I think this will be over in a week.

[catbyte]

7. Credit Unions here are giving furloughed workers interest-free $500 loans, customer or not

I hope he's not too incapacitated to check out local resources. Many places want to help. I'm so sorry.

[smirkymonkey]

8. I'm so sorry for your relative, and for everyone affected by this evil shutdown.

It is just terrible what people are having to endure all because one petty little man decided to throw a temper tantrum. I hope your cousin gets some relief soon. I can't stand to think of anyone suffering like this.

[brush]

9. Pls tell him to hang in there. It takes months for a house to be lost...

Last edited Sat Jan 19, 2019, 11:59 AM - Edit history (2)

as court filings have to be made by the bank after a delinquency period. Then the case has to wind it's way thru to foreclosure proceedings which is a months-long process.

At any point during this time if the arrears is paid he'll be fine so pls tell him to stay in touch with the bank and tell them he is a victim of the shutdown. He will probably even be able to get the bank to rescind late fees as trump's government closing was no fault of his.

[MrsCoffee]

10. GOFundMe may be against the law for furloughed employees. Be careful of the advice you give.

https://wreg.com/2019/01/17/furloughed-government-employees-created-gofundme-pages-to-survive-the-shutdown-that-may-be-against-the-law/

More then 1,500 campaigns have been set up on the crowdfunding site by furloughed government employees looking for help, GoFundMe spokeswoman Katherine Cichy told CNN. Together, the campaigns so far have raised more than $300,000.

But these workers may be breaking federal ethics laws with their online fundraising. And the government office that could offer them some clarity on that is closed — because of the shutdown.

They could go to jail

The federal law the government employees might be running afoul of is part of the United States Code that deals with the salaries paid to government officials and employees, under a section called “Bribery, Graft and Conflicts of Interest.” In a nutshell, it says federal employees aren’t supposed to supplement their salaries with outside income.

If they do, the penalties could be steep.

I have no idea how true this is, not a lawyer.

This is such a fucked up situation for anyone to be in. So sorry your family has to deal with this. This administration is beyond cruel.

[akraven]

11. Send a link to the gofundme. I can't afford much (we're hurting) but what we can!

We'll send.

[allgood33]

12. We made it through! Cousin doing well and now has a side job he didn't have before the shutdown.

seems really happy with the new part-time gig on week-ends. Shutdown over for now so he is better. He had worked two jobs in past years but stopped for health reasons and never went back. Says he will continue with the week-end gig to put some savings in bank for future mess with Trump. Thanks for your positive vibes, DU.