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Nevadans Voice Frustrations, Fears Over Government Shutdown

Illustrated By Stephanie Serrano

Around 3,000 federal employees in Nevada are waiting and worried as the government shutdown continues. KUNR reporter Stephanie Serrano recently spoke to a few of them.

Community members attended a round table last week hosted by Democratic U.S Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. The room of about 25 people spoke about their frustrations, concerns and worries as the shutdown continues.

Brianna Bedard is a spouse of an active duty member of the United States Coast Guard, stationed at Lake Tahoe.

"Our coast guard families are a one-paycheck family, so to go without that it becomes worrisome very quickly,” she said. “Well, one thing that certainly worries me is that my daughter is in preschool; that is a tuition bill we have to pay every month and that is going to be due come the first of the month. We have a rent payment obviously. I think in any agency there becomes an issue of morale when you have to deal with personal financial issues. You are expected to do a job, an important job, and at the same time you're worrying about how to take care of your family."

Dr. Michael Moradshahi is a youth mental health psychologist and he also spoke. He’s worried about his patients, who are marginalized community members, not receiving critical care. He’s also worried about his own kids because the family’s income is affected.

Democratic U.S Senator Jacky Rosen hosted a similar event and both are calling for the shutdown to end. Congress has been unable to pass a bill to fully re-open the government, while negotiations between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders have stalled.

Stephanie Serrano (she/her/ella) is an award-winning multimedia bilingual journalist based in Reno, Nevada. Her reporting is powered by character-driven stories and is rooted in sound-rich audio. Her storytelling works to share the experiences of unserved communities in regards to education, race, affordable housing and sports.
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