While the first two distribution days saw a "decent crowd" according to Enzler, Thursday's was by far the largest. He told CNA that he suspected this was due to the location of the office, which is near all of the city's metro lines. The first two locations were accessible only by car.
Catholic Charities of Washington got involved through a partnership with United Way of the National Capital Area. The President and CEO of United Way, Rosie Allen-Herring, reached out to Catholic Charities, and asked them to be one of the three charities to receive money to assist furloughed workers. Catholic Charities was picked because they have a "pretty broad spectrum of services," Enzler said, and are present throughout the southern Potomac area.
"It's a chance for us to become a player in trying to help people who have been affected by the shutdown," he added.
Catholic Charities COO Pat Dunne told CNA that he "didn't know what to expect" when it came to assisting furloughed workers. He said that it was "a question of getting the word out, and our communications folks worked really hard to get the word out to everyone."
One of the people who received word that Catholic Charities would be providing assistance to federal employees was a woman named Zenola.
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Zenola told CNA that she has worked for Housing and Urban Development for nearly 20 years. She has been furloughed the entire length of the shutdown.
She said that her daughter saw a notice about the program on Facebook, and she called Catholic Charities to ensure she would be able to receive assistance.
"They told me to come on down," she said.