Sheryl Feducia helps members of her community connect with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and other crucial benefits when they need it most. Her work as an eligibility specialist at Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, where she’s worked for 36 years, is vital to help struggling families.
Feducia, who also serves as vice president of AFSCME Local 714 and secretary of Council 4, worries about reckless budget cuts proposed by anti-union extremists in Congress just so they can reward their billionaire buddies with even bigger tax cuts. Life-saving programs like SNAP and Medicaid are in danger. Gutting them would devastate the people she serves.
Feducia provides financial assistance to families, connecting them with SNAP and Medicaid, referring them to the state’s Jobs First program, along with resources for training and education.
“We help them find a job so they can be self-sufficient,” she says. “We help them tap into funds for day care for kids, get bus passes, and help with overall positive reinforcement.”
Feducia has a first-hand view of what might happen if the federal government makes major funding cuts to the programs she administers.
“If we can’t service our clients, they won’t have medical insurance, food on their table or rent money,” she says. “They’re going to be desperate to feed their families.”
Feducia worries especially about Medicaid cuts, which would strip children of their health care, calling such an outcome “absolutely devastating.” She adds, “I can’t even think of the horror that would happen to those families, the children and the adolescents.”
Feducia wants members of Congress to know that cuts to assistance programs don’t just affect the recipients.
“If the people who are receiving assistance don’t get what they need,” she warns, “it is going to negatively affect every person in this country.”
AFSCME has launched the Get Organized campaign to fight these reckless budget cuts and push back against attacks on workers from billionaires and anti-union extremists.
The GO campaign is about making sure everyone understands what’s at stake in this fight, and about defeating any efforts to gut vital programs like Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare and Social Security. It’s also about bringing more workers without a voice on the job into the AFSCME family and increasing engagement among working and retiree members.