Some banks are offering a pause on payments on certain loans, waiving late fees and providing no-interest loans.

Members of the AFSCME union who help those in need of food assistance say the federal government has put them in an impossible position.

One such program is the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, also called LIHEAP. The federally-funded program “provides assistance to eligible low-income households with the goal of managing and meeting their immediate home heating and/or cooling needs,” the website says.

The Worcester Community Action Council says it will receive no money from the federal government for fuel assistance if the shutdown persists.

A simple Facebook post from a Waukesha mother has grown into an effort to help families at risk of losing their food assistance benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.