San Diego

Escondido Woman Set Up Donations for Families Affected by Gov't Shutdown

The standstill in Washington has continued to put a strain on government employee families.

One Escondido woman is working to help those affected by the shutdown and aren’t receiving paychecks.

Patti Thompson of Escondido has a stockpile of food in her living room but she wasn't storing away for a rainy day. She was lending a helping hand.

“There’s $600 worth of food here. There’s actually more I’m sure,” she said. “I would say about a thousand dollars’ worth of food.”

Thompson has turned her living room into a donation center of sorts for families affected by the government shutdown.

"They don't know what they're going to do,” she said. “How they're going to put food on the table.”

Thompson said one of the first few families to pick up the goods was that of a firefighter.

For those who are used to helping others, it's been difficult to ask for help, she said.

"When I asked them specifically, ‘Would you come back?” Thompson said. “She called me back and she said, ‘It was so hard for us to even come over there.’"

Thompson created a Facebook post Friday night on the Friends of Escondido page asking for donations and offering to help. She said since then, there has been an outpour of support from the community, both from people who came to pick up and drop off donations.

While it’s a small gesture, Thompson hopes it will go a long way.

“It's a huge change of events for people who generally make really good money and now aren't able to support themselves," she said.

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