DENVER β Denver7 viewers have stepped up over the past several weeks to help those in need as the government shutdown forces them to choose between paying their bills or putting food on the table.
"I'm really going through something that I didn't think I was ever going to go through. Something that I never wanted my kids to go through," said Jaime Valdez.
Valdez currently lives with her three kids at Denver Rescue Mission's The Crossing temporary housing.
She found herself there after leaving an abusive relationship, and is part of the BRIDGE program β an effort to help people become self-sufficient while offering support services.
BRIDGE program participants pay a fee to be involved and help fund the services. It's been an incredible help for Valdez.
"This place has been a big change for me and my children," she said.
When SNAP payments were paused at the beginning of October, it caused her budget to be incredible tight.
"I do pay car insurance and then on top of that, I do buy food. But, I have food stamps," she said. "I usually buy about two to three cans of formula with my food stamps to make sure it lasts."
With SNAP payments uncertain for hundreds of thousands of Coloradans, many families are having to make tough choices.
"My four year old tells me, 'Oh you didn't get my banana. You're mean, mom.' 'Sorry, I don't know what to tell you. I love you guys, I do, It's just out of my hands,'" Valdez said tearfully. "I'm sorry, but it's a really hard situation. So I would definitely still have to pay rent and my car insurance. Everything else I would have to put that on the side, and just make sure that my kids have enough food."
Denver Rescue Mission is dipping into their own funding to support residents like Valdez.
"I did get a scholarship. What that means is, that they pay one month's rent for me," she said.
Denver7 viewers have been donating to the Denver7 Gives fund to help families impacted by the government shutdown. Some of those funds were used to buy baby formula for Valdez' daughter to take one thing off her family's plate.
She's hoping those in power do what they can to solve this problem, fast.
"They not affecting us adults, they're affecting the children," she said.
Denver7 features the stories of people who need help and now you can help them with a cash donation through Denver7 Gives. One hundred percent of contributions to the fund will be used to help people in our local community.
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