Though they may not know it yet, Pam Brier knows they are out there. She's talking about furloughed federal workers who need help making ends meet.
"During rough times, unanticipated hardships like this one, we really want the community to understand that we are there for them," Brier said.
She is the executive director of the Action Center in Lakewood, which offers a food bank, clothing bank, and other social services to help anyone struggling financially. The Action Center is located just a few miles from the Federal Center which houses 28 agencies and more than 6,200 workers.
"I would expect many of the employees working at the Federal Center, many of the federal employees, will be residents of Jefferson County," Brier said.
Many of them, Brier says, probably never thought they would need help from an agency like The Action Center.
"For some people, they never thought that they were going to need to be in the position for ask for this kind of support," Brier said.
She wants them to know that they can come here for clothes or for five days worth of groceries -- all offered without judgment.
"We don't know how long this is going to go on and for many of our federal employees, they're not high earners," Brier said.
Brier knows they're out there and it is literally a matter of time before they need to come in for help.
"We really get tremendous satisfaction by being able to be the place where someone can go when they're having a hard time," Brier said.
If you want to find out more about what The Action Center has to offer, click here: https://theactioncenterco.org/