Our View: A Challenge Met

Two recent events — Hurricane Melissa’s rampage across Jamaica and the U.S. government shutdown — have brought out the best in Cape Codders.

 The response to numerous fundraisers for Jamaica, where many local residents hail from, has been overwhelmingly positive. The service and hospitality industries, especially, have stepped up to support the many workers who have family and close ties to the island nation. Many of those efforts remain ongoing as Jamaicans struggle to overcome the devastation that Melissa left in her wake.

 Although the government is back open, the 43-day shutdown and the Trump administration’s failure to show any sort of empathy for those caught up in the bureaucratic breakdown has shaken many people’s faith that critical support would be there when needed. The lack of paychecks for government workers and the failure to use emergency funds to bolster SNAP benefits left many struggling to put food on the table and meet other critical needs. While the law required that government workers receive back pay — despite the administration’s threat not to follow through — anyone on SNAP must now feel abandoned and anxious that those benefits could be taken away at any time. After all, even though emergency funding was available, the administration resisted extending coverage, threatening states that dug into their own budgets to provide support and appealing to the Supreme Court to avoid having to tap the emergency money. The only conclusion can be that Trump and his lackeys wanted to put the screws to society’s most vulnerable in order to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown. It was a shameful episode that voters need to remember next November.

 Locally, Cape Codders stepped up through donations, food collections and other efforts to ensure that those who depended on SNAP would have alternative sources to put food on the table. The United Way of Cape Cod and the Cape Cod Council of Churches provided emergency funding, and last week the Harwich-based EOS Foundation announced $125,000 in grants and supermarket gift cards to continue to fight what will no doubt be an ongoing issue for many who depend on SNAP benefits. 

 These efforts serve as a precursor to the holiday season, when residents will be asked to give even more for their fellow Cape Codders. We have faith that folks will meet any challenge, especially when it comes to supporting their neighbors.