Essential but Unpaid: Serving Others While Struggling to Get By

Chandler McGinnis is one of 30,000 federal employees in Kansas City adversely affected by the government shutdown. A customer service representative for the Social Security Administration’s 1-800 hotline, she is deemed an essential worker and required to work without pay.

“I’m discouraged. I’m disheartened. I’m defeated. I feel like the amount that our force has been reduced is to the point where it feels like they’re trying to dismantle our social safety net,” she said. “This is an issue that needs to be solved because it’s as basic as food and water and electricity and healthcare and a place to live.”

“I love my job. I want to keep doing it,” McGinnis said. “I’m going to be there to serve the people, but there are some days where it’s hard, where it’s like, can I do this to my mental health? Can I do this to my spirit? Can I endure for them?”

Uncertain about her own future, McGinnis finds her hands tied when it comes to helping callers like a cancer patient who has been denied lifesaving treatment.

“He was explaining to me that his cancer treatment had been denied since last October, and his Medicare was terminated. Our processing center was supposed to be processing his reinstatement, but because we’ve lost so many employees, the messages keep bouncing back and forth, and no work was actually done,” Chandler said.

“I just cried on the phone with him, telling him to please reach out to his congressman, because I can tell these stories, but, sir, if you tell these stories to your congressmember and explain to them the atrocities that are being done, maybe they will listen.”

Earlier this year, McGinnis figured she was financially stable enough to quit a second job. But now she wonders if she will need to go back to bartending to help pay for living expenses, including expensive specialty foods to accommodate her gluten and lactose intolerances.

“I have to make all my meals from home, and groceries are so expensive when you’re trying to be gluten-free,” she said.

“I just I can’t thank Harvesters enough,” she adds. “I have friends that are not going to be able to pay the rent, and how could they even think about buying groceries? You guys are really helping right now, so thank you for existing.”