November 7, 2025 • 25 mins
Paychecks paused, budgets stretched, stress rising—when a shutdown hits home, the first question is simple: where can I get help today? We invited Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Earl Stoddard to walk us through the fastest, most reliable ways Montgomery County residents can find support for food, rent, mental health, and work options, all without getting lost in red tape. The theme is practical and human: one call to 311 connects you to real people who assess your situation and build a plan around your needs.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:03):
Good day and welcome to What's Happening Moco, an
authentic, unscripted podcastfrom your Montgomery County
government.
Now, here's your host, DerekKenney.
SPEAKER_02 (00:16):
Good day, and welcome to What's Happening
Moco.
Today's episode, we haveresources from the county
government for those affected bythe government shutdown.
Whether you're being affected bythe complications of SNAP
benefits or the ongoing furloughof government workers, please
watch this episode.
We have a special guest, EarlStoddard.
He's an assistant chiefadministrative officer in charge
(00:37):
of resources and public safetyfor the Montgomery County
government.
Good day.
Welcome to the show, Earl.
Is it okay if I call you Earl?
Absolutely.
Thanks, Derek.
All right.
And I want to say thank you onbehalf of the residents and
others in the county for all thegood work that you've done
during COVID, which seems likeit was what a thousand years
ago, but just what two or threeyears ago, we were in the midst
of COVID and we've had all thoseprotocols and safety measures in
(00:59):
place.
And you had uh quite a role inthat.
Uh tell us a little bit aboutwhat you do now uh as assistant
chief administrative officer,and then a little bit about what
you did then.
And then let's get deep into theresources available to families
and individuals in the county uhwhen it comes to um the impact
(01:19):
of the furloughs and thecomplications with SNAP
benefits.
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
Sure.
So I uh moved to the countyexecutive's office as an
assistant CAO in September of21.
So I've been, it's about fouryears, a little over four years
now that I've been working withthe county executive's office.
I'm one of three assistant CAOsat this point.
Um and we have a deputy CAO andthen obviously the chief
administrative officer, RichMatolino.
Um we as a team basically divideup all the functions of the
(01:44):
executive branch of governmentand have different portfolios
that we all focus on.
For me, obviously, given myhistory as the county's
emergency manager from 2016 to2021, uh, I took the public
safety portfolio amongst severalother things, including uh parts
of health and human servicesthat focus on uh homelessness
and homelessness prevention,behavioral health and mental
(02:04):
health services, uh, Office ofFood Systems Resilience.
And I also happen to have ourVision Zero portfolio portfolio
as well.
So it's a pretty broadportfolio.
SPEAKER_02 (02:14):
That's pretty big here.
You have Vision Zero, which isthe county's initiative to
improve uh pedestrian safety.
Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00 (02:21):
All right.
How's that going?
It's a you know, it's one ofthose things where it feels like
it's one step forward, one stepback sometimes.
We uh we make progress and thenyou know we have we have an
unexpected fatality.
Um it's uh Vision Zero is one ofthose challenges where it's a
multi-billion dollar, multi-yearchallenge because we've got to
remake some of the designs ofour roadways.
And obviously, with technologylike uh cell phones, distracted
(02:43):
driving has increased a lot.
And so it's uh it feels like wemake progress uh and then you
know something happens and wefeel like we need to make more
progress.
So it's gonna be one of thosethings where it's gonna take a
generation of investment for usto address.
Awesome, awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (02:57):
And before we get to the subject, uh the the core
subject, what's what's one oftwo things that residents could
do to help you um achieve thegoals of Vision Zero?
SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
Yeah, so I think it's we all have a role to play
in um roadway safety.
Obviously, our pedestrians andour bicyclists are at the
greatest risk.
You know, those of us drivingoperate multi-ton vehicles uh
with the uh, you know, many ofus, many of us at this point
drive SUVs, which have a littlebit higher, sit higher, and all
make it very difficult forpeople to be see.
I think one of the things wetell people is be observant of
(03:31):
the roadways.
Do not be distracted by aconversation on your phone with
someone in the car with the textthat just came in with an email
that you're waiting for fromwork.
Um people don't take take takefor granted that things are just
gonna operate as they should onthe roadways and they often will
not.
And that, you know, that appliesto our drivers principally, but
it also applies to ourpedestrians and bicyclists.
(03:52):
You know, I I I we werediscussing before the show, I've
been doing a lot of walking.
So, you know, I know as apedestrian all the time, but I
need to be very cautious.
I don't assume that someone'sgonna stop at the stop sign.
I think that's important too.
It shouldn't be that way.
People should follow the rulesof the road, but the reality is
people are distracted and weneed to take that into account.
And so drivers, pedestrians,bicyclists just all have to play
(04:14):
a role in this and play a role,you know, make sure we
contribute.
SPEAKER_02 (04:17):
Fantastic.
And speaking of contribute, thecounty has been stepping up, as
has the state of Maryland's beenstepping up to help support
families and individualsaffected by the furloughs and
the complications involvingSNAP.
Uh, what let's let's cover someof the things and some of the
key resources um that areavailable um to those that
qualify within the county.
(04:38):
Uh and let's start with um foodinsecurity.
Uh, what are some of theresources available for people
that are facing food insecurity?
And by that, people that mightbe um short on funds for
groceries or for um lunches orbreakfast for their kids.
SPEAKER_00 (04:55):
Yeah, so let me start off by saying um sort of
this this government shutdown isreally tragic.
It's really affecting a lot ofour residents.
My wife actually is a furloughfurrow employee uh herself.
So uh it's affecting my familyand in not, you know, obviously
not to the extent that it'saffecting some families where
you've got two how two twobreadwinners or the primary
breadwinner of the house that'saffected by this.
(05:15):
And obviously we're we're tryingto think about all the different
angles of support that peoplewill need as we address this.
So let's start by let me let mepreface this by saying I'm gonna
talk a lot about differentservices today.
The easiest way to access any ofthese services is actually to
contact the county's 311service.
Okay.
Uh they'll connect you and and alot of these services are
eligibility-based, meaningthey'll do an assessment and
(05:35):
they'll be able to tell youthrough our Department of Health
Union Services and the partnersthat work with them, you're
eligible for A, B, and C or D Eand F.
And depending on yourcircumstances, they'll be able
to give you a lot ofinformation.
SPEAKER_02 (05:46):
So for the starting point, for those not um familiar
with 311, they can simply dial311 if they live in the county,
if they're in the county, and itwill route them to county
information services.
SPEAKER_00 (05:57):
Or if you're outside the county, but you uh you know
have an access to MontgomeryCounty, you can dial
240-777-0311 as well.
All right, thank you.
Uh and so that'll that'll getyou in and you'll you'll talk
you'll talk to someone.
It's you know, you'll you'll geta call taker and they'll,
depending on what you're askingfor, they'll direct you to the
right service from there.
SPEAKER_02 (06:14):
Oh, I'm sorry, a real human being?
Oh, a real human being.
SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
I know it's I know it's sort of quaint nowadays to
think about, but yeah, we we wedo that too.
That's powerful.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yep.
And so um, for food resources,obviously, this is something the
county has invested a ton in.
Actually, we we talked aboutCOVID before this, and this
really comes out of our work inCOVID, where food, food
availability and food securitywere such a prevalent issue
given the the closures, theimpacts on restaurants and
(06:37):
businesses.
We had a lot of people who wereunemployed.
Employment unemployment at thatpoint was through the roof, and
we knew we had to provide foodsupport.
So we actually stood up at thetime our food security task
force, which grew into ourOffice of Food Systems
Resilience, uh, led by uhDirector Heather Bruskin, who
came from us, came from theMontgomery County Food Council.
So the county invests about uh$23.5 million in food services.
(07:01):
Well just part of the normalbudget for this year.
Okay.
Uh 13 million of that goesthrough our Office of Food
Systems Resilience that aretypically given out via grants
that go to our nonprofitproviders.
A lot of the frontline work andfood is done by nonprofits.
It's been that way for as longas uh food support has existed.
We just actually aresupplementing and helping to
coordinate some of thoseefforts.
And so there are a plethora ofnonprofits around the community
(07:24):
that are offering foodassistance.
And many of them have actuallystood up additional hours and
services for furloughed federalworkers.
SPEAKER_02 (07:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (07:31):
The easiest way to access them, as I said, besides
311, is our Office of FoodSystems Resilience actually
maintains an entire calendar andmap of all the locations, the
times, how they can be accessed.
And depending on uh there aredelivery services, there are
drive-up services, there are byappointment food pantry where
you can go in and pick the foodyou want.
(07:52):
They have different hours anddifferent availabilities.
They're in every literally everyZipco to Montgomery County has a
food provider or more, more thanone potentially that's
associated with them.
And as I said, either through311 you can get that schedule,
or you can visit our Office ofFood Systems Resilience website.
There's a, as I said, you know,there's a link or at the top of
the page that says, Do you needfood?
(08:13):
Click on that, it goes and listsout the schedule and the map and
all the information to accessfood for across county.
SPEAKER_02 (08:20):
So not only are there food resources, but there
are different ways to accessthose resources, oftentimes
convenient.
Um, on the news, um, recentlyyou've seen across the country
lines of people that areimpacted by the furloughs and by
the complications with SNAPbenefits.
And I say uh complicationsbecause things are changing day
by day.
(08:40):
Even as we record this podcast,um, there's been a requirement
from the courts for the federalgovernment to pay some measure
of SNAP benefits.
So we'll uh we'll we'll see ifthat will happen.
Correct.
But even if that does nothappen, the county stands ready
and the the organizations youmentioned stand ready with food
resources.
SPEAKER_00 (09:01):
Yeah, and and uh obviously Governor Moore has
been a big assist in this.
Um so the there's contingencyfunds that the federal
government had that the courtordered them to utilize for SNAP
benefits.
Snap benefits across the countrycost about eight billion to
eight to nine billion dollars amonth.
Uh they had about five to sixbillion in the contingency
funds.
So essentially the federalgovernment initially committed
to say we'll cover half of theNovember distribution using
(09:25):
those contingency funds.
And the gut and Governor Moorecame and stepped right in and
said, if you're if they're gonnacover half, state of Maryland's
gonna cover the other half.
Oh, wow.
For the state of Maryland, it'sabout$62 million to cover half.
It's about$123 a month acrossthe state of Maryland.
It's about$12.5 million permonth in Montgomery County.
We have about$67,000, I think,people who are SNAP recipients
(09:46):
in Montgomery County, and 37,000of those are children.
So I think it's it gives you asense of the need within our
community.
And um, they are um they are inaddition to the SNAP benefits,
the governor also put$10 millioninto local food banks last week
that allows them those toimmediately get distributed to
area food providers like theCapillary Food Bank, Mana Food
(10:07):
Center, and all the smallernonprofits that utilize their
resources to distribute.
And so there are a ton ofavailable resources that are
being brought to bear, inaddition to the fact that, you
know, what we've really seen inMontgomery County is we have a
very generous population.
We have a lot of residents whoare willing to donate their time
and their money.
We have federal workers who arefurloughed, who are donating
(10:30):
their free time to work at foodpantries to serve their fellow
food, furloughed uh federalworkers or others who are
impacted by the shutdown.
So it goes to show whatMontgomery County has.
And what that means is we havenot yet seen those long, the
longest lines, because as Isaid, we have some, we have some
you know drive-up situations,but we also have by appointment,
(10:51):
we have food pantries uh thatwhere you can walk in and
essentially do a it's a lot likea uh trip to the sh uh to the
supermarket for people where youcan go to a list of shelves and
you can pick what you want totake with you.
And so you know, those um, youknow, select pantries are
available as well.
So I, you know, I think we'vegot a number of different
options.
We had invested in this beforethe fur the federal shutdown had
(11:13):
started.
There's additional resourcesafter the shutdown has begun.
Actually, the we've been workingwith the county council.
They they're actually in theprocess of passing a
supplemental appropriation toadd an additional three and a
half million dollars of foodresources.
So, you know, I would say thisis an area where um our county
executive has been reallycommitted to making sure that
there are a plethora of foodresources in Montgomery County.
(11:34):
I know that that's not gonna,you know, it doesn't always meet
the full need, but we are in amuch better position to with a
system that can augment tosupport our federal workers than
a lot of other places.
SPEAKER_02 (11:44):
Well, that's that's we we're gonna take a
opportunity here in the programto insert some applause.
Uh, and you'll hear it uh inthis recording for all the
people that are volunteering,the organizations that have
stepped up their capacity andtheir services, and also, of
course, the county governmentfor filling in the void, and of
course the governor and thecounty executive for providing
(12:05):
their leadership, but alsoresources that will directly
benefit uh the residents ofMontgomery County, Maryland.
Um, so when people go or theycall F11, what can they expect
uh the experience to be like?
What is uh when you go to pickup things, do you need to have
your ID?
Do you need to have paperwork?
SPEAKER_00 (12:23):
So tip so they'll do for most services, they'll do an
assessment of what's availableto you.
So for most food resources,there's nothing you need to
provide.
You show up, we're gonna serveyou.
Okay.
Uh that's in that's by design.
We're we're not trying, thoseare meant to be really open
opportunities where if you needfood, we're gonna get you food.
In fact, that we often allowpeople, and uh most of the
locations will allow you to pickup for multiple people as well.
(12:45):
But you should obviously onceyou go to 311, they'll give you
the best option.
You can review exactly what thewhat that site does to operate.
But many of the sites allow forpeople to pick up for multiple
families at once, things of thatnature.
It's meant to be an open andaccessible process.
And so by design, and we've beenworking with our partners for a
long time to make sure that weincrease those options.
(13:05):
And so you're not gonna need tobe able to demonstrate that you
have a need in most cases, ormaybe I can't think of any cases
where you'd have to demonstratethat you have a need, really.
If it's one of those thingswhere if you show up and we may
collect some some basicnon-identified non-identifiable
information like your zip codeor something like that, because
what we're trying to do isreally get a good assessment of
where the need is so we cancontinue to direct more
(13:26):
resources to the places thathave the most need.
So if if you get any questionsat all, it's questions that are
not going to be specific to youas an individual.
They're gonna be specific moreto um the kinds of services that
you need so that we can betterum dedicate our resources in the
places that have the most needand and are the that are the
most receptive.
SPEAKER_02 (13:47):
So fantastic, fantastic.
So it's a fairly easy andrespectful process um that
people should feel comfortableuh coming out and getting help.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (13:57):
I mean, that's that's why they exist.
That's why, you know, it's whywe have a strong local
government that partners withour strong nonprofit um
partners.
We wanna we we we know peopleare struggling.
We want to make sure that wehave the resources available to
help them.
SPEAKER_02 (14:11):
Fantastic.
Now, for those workers, uhfurlough workers, that may be, I
think the saying is that mostpeople and families are too with
repaychecks away um from beinghomeless.
Um that's anecdotal, but there'ssome truth to that.
Um so there may be some uhfurlough workers that may be
facing um trouble with rent,trouble with mortgages, um,
(14:35):
trouble with things of uhfinancial nature that the
furlough has really put them andtheir families in a bit of
financial distress.
What resources are availablewhen it comes to housing um for
furloughed workers or otherworkers that uh may need
assistance?
SPEAKER_00 (14:51):
Yep.
And I'll just reiterate that allthese can be available through
our 301 system.
You'll you'll get you'll getthem.
So our service standard preventhomelessness has a number of uh
rental assistance programs thatdepending on and you you there
are there are there are thingsthat will increase your
qualifications.
So for example, if you're overthe age of 55, if you're
disabled in any way, there thatwe have obviously programs that
are niche that will help andexpand the the resources
(15:15):
available.
But again, it depends in part.
This is where this is onecategory where there's going to
be an eligibility determinationbecause um, you know, we have a
lot of residents in need who arenot furlough federal workers
that we're trying to make surethat we have uh equitable
resources available to.
But this is one of those thingswhere they'll do an assessment
for you, your individualcircumstances, and they'll
(15:37):
provide um, you know, basicallyguidance on what you're eligible
for in this space.
But uh, as I said, there'smillions of dollars available
every year for rental assistancein Montgomery County.
We regularly do work on evictionprevention, for example, to make
sure that we are we areprioritizing the resources that
are going to keep people housedand make sure that they're
they're comfortable.
(15:57):
Um and obviously I think thatthe, you know, within the
federal workforce, obviouslythere are contractors for whom
the expectation is that you willnot necessarily get your
paycheck back once the federalgovernment goes back.
If you're a federal worker who'sjust on furlough, obviously the
presumption at this point isuntil we, you know, by law,
they're required to give youback pay.
(16:18):
And so obviously in thosesituations, we're really trying
to just buy someone the timethat they need to be able to get
to the next paycheck.
Whereas if you're a contractoror someone who's not going to be
getting back pay, those are thethose we're going to prioritize
some of our resources towardsthose individuals to make sure
because their situation is notgoing to be improved when the
(16:39):
when the federal government doesget back to work.
And so this is this is one areawhere there are absolutely
resources available to people.
Uh, they are a lot of resourcesavailable depending on the
nature of the, you know, thecircumstances of the individual
person, their age, their theirhealth status, et cetera.
Um, but really, this is whereour Department of Health and
Human Services will do thatintake assessment and be able to
(17:01):
tell people what they'reeligible for.
SPEAKER_02 (17:02):
Incredible.
Great.
And so the the level ofresources and the type of
resources available aredepending on the situation of
the individual.
So that's fantastic.
That's whether you had existingneeds before, or if you are
temporarily need have needs as afellow federal worker, or if
you're a contractor, all thosethings have been considered.
Um what a thoughtful, it musthave been a very thoughtful
(17:25):
process to um develop theapproach to providing resources
in this uh, I will say, uniquesituation where we are at a
record-setting length uhfurlough for federal government
workers.
SPEAKER_00 (17:37):
Yeah, I mean, I I hate to go back to COVID, but I
think a lot, you know, there's alot of parallels to the federal
shutdown with COVID in the sensethat you have economic
interruption, you have peoplenot being gonna go to the
workplace, you're having, youknow, when you have economic uh
interruption, we know what thatleads to.
People have to make hard choicesabout am I gonna feed my family
today or am I gonna pay my rent?
(17:59):
Right.
And so we know that we want totry and make every one of those
avenues easier.
And oh, by the way, we're alsotrying to provide people
resources where, hey, if youdon't want to, how can you
retrain, you know, get you re,you know, prepare your resume so
that if you don't want to keepdealing with the the this
federal shutdown of you and tryand find other employment, we're
gonna help you try and find thattoo.
So we're trying to tackle thisfrom every angle.
(18:20):
You know, make sure that youhave um because we know that if
if you have rent pressures, itaffects your ability to pay for
your health care, it affectsyour ability to feed your
family, it affects your abilityto make your car payment.
And so obviously, we're tryingto address tackle every one of
those angles because we knowthat they're so interconnected
that you're going to, it's gonnahave cascading effects.
(18:41):
Wonderful.
SPEAKER_02 (18:41):
Do you also provide uh in terms of not just
physical, uh fiscal resources,do you also provide uh advice
for how to manage uh a temporarysetback situation like the for
our workers?
Yes, how to contact your yourcreditors or that are yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (18:59):
Yeah.
So we definitely offer thisthrough um, this is one of those
things where we when we when wedo uh we get a case, people are
assigned a case manager whenthey start working with us.
And so the case manager is goingto have a number of different
resources that are gonna beavailable to them that will
include guidance on how to bestmanage resources like that.
That's what you know, it's wehave we we have sort of a
detailed social um you know,social service process that
(19:24):
includes because like our ourour goal in Montgomery County is
to make our resources go as faras possible.
And so what we do is we say,hey, can we can we it maybe
money that makes makes makesthings better, but it may also
be a conversation with yourlandlord.
It may be like there are thereare different avenues where
we're not gonna automaticallyjust write a check to someone if
(19:46):
we think that we can help themwith another process that's
gonna not have us write thatcheck because we know that we
need those resources for someoneelse too.
And so that's all part of thework that our case managers and
social workers do in ourDepartment of Health and Human
Services once people reach outto them for services and
they'll, you know, we we we takegreat pride in the fact that we
do a lot of wraparound servicefor providing in Montgomery
(20:07):
County.
And we have we we have a veryunique uh Department of Health
and Human Services in the stateof Maryland.
We're actually the only countyin the state of Maryland that
has a joint Department of Healthand Human Services.
This is something we've actuallyuniquely taken on in Montgomery
County as a responsibilitylocally that traditionally mo
much of the human services towork across the state is a state
function.
We're we're the only county thathas has essentially we're we're
(20:30):
uh effectively grandfathered into be able to provide social
services at a direct level.
And so we take great pride inthat and uh have developed a
real system that allows us to dothat.
SPEAKER_02 (20:40):
Right.
Now, other than the foodinsecurity and of course things
like rent um and advice onmanaging uh rent and mortgage
payments and how to deal withcreditors, what are some of the
other resources that have uhcome to the forefront as needs
and that the county might beable to assist with?
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Yeah, so we stood up uh um uh the American Job
Center, which is uh focused onfederal workers, obviously
because this year began with abunch of federal worker firings.
Yeah.
You know, the federal governmentdid a lot of that.
And so, you know, we stood up aa uh a center actually in
Wheaton that allows for peopleto walk in who are federal
workers.
It helps them with resumebuilding, interviewing, um, you
(21:20):
know, it connects them.
You can get connect directlyconnected there to food services
and other other uh through manaactually is operating the the
food supports through ourAmerican Job Center.
And you can actually getadditional resources in a
one-stop shop there for federalworkers.
The other thing we also do is umwe know how stressful this
(21:40):
period is.
And so there's a lot of mentalhealth resources available to
our federal workers and furloughfederal workers.
Um, because, you know, as Isaid, my wife is, you know, I
just know there's a lot ofthere's a perception that I
think the furlough federalworkers are like, oh, this is a
group, this is a vacation forthem.
It's not.
There, these people are um byand large, dedicated so civil
(22:01):
servants.
They want to be going in anddoing the work of the people.
Um, and you know, my wife hascancer research, so yeah, she
she got into that because mymother-in-law is a multiple-time
cancer survivor, so she'sinvested in the work.
And so I can see how federalworkers would be struggling
because you know, they havetheir life's work has been
essentially denied to them forwhat, 35, 36 days at this point,
(22:25):
and with no end in sight,unfortunately.
And so we know that the mentalstresses of um, you know, of
that are um are will wear onpeople.
And so we we've expanded ourmental health services.
Those can be access accessed ifit's an emergency need.
Obviously, 988 is available toanyone across the county uh for
(22:46):
for those services or our crisiscenter, or you can just contact
311 if you just want, if youthink you need just more uh
guidance on accessing other sortof non-emergent needs for mental
health.
And so that's another area thatwe've we've focused a lot on.
Um I think I think I mean Ithink those are I think the
breadth of resources that we Idon't want to I don't want to
(23:07):
say that in all cases therearen't other things that uh you
know, depending on the ifsomeone had a unique
circumstance where likeutilities assistance, for
example, that's another areawhere we have resources.
Um you know, depending on theunique circumstances of
individuals, our social serviceteam has a really good job of
like basically offering someonea whole plethora of different
services that they might beeligible for, doing the
(23:28):
assessment, saying, Oh, youqualify for A, D, and F, and
someone else maybe A, C, and D,as opposed to, you know, for
what they qualify for.
And so there are other services.
So I think the best thing Iwould tell people is get
connected with through 311 withour Department of Health Human
Services.
They'll do, they'll begin to doan intensive case management
process with the individual, andthey're really good at
(23:51):
maximizing the benefits someonecan receive.
SPEAKER_02 (23:53):
Fantastic.
And the county providingbenefits and resources to the
residents as a county should, asa great county of Montgomery
County should.
Uh, and that's what's happening,Moco.
Earl Stoddard, thank you so muchfor being here today.
Um, thank you so much to the uhChief Administrative's office
and officer, uh Rich Mandalino,um, for allowing you to be here
today, and then also for all thegreat things that you guys do,
(24:15):
not only for the employees ofMontgomery County, Maryland, but
also directly for the residentsof the county as well.
Thank you.
Uh, and for those of you outthere, please take this episode,
uh, like, subscribe, pleaseshare these resources with
others that may need them.
This is a critical time, and weshould take this information.
We should use it, we shouldshare it, and we should make
(24:35):
sure that our fellow residentsare doing as good as possible in
this the beginning of the mostwonderful time of year as we
celebrate Thanksgiving and theholidays.
SPEAKER_01 (24:46):
Thanks for listening to What's Happening Now Code.
Please subscribe via yourfavorite podcast, and follow us
on Facebook.
This podcast is brought to youby County Cable Montgomery, your
source for news and informationfrom the Montgomery County
government.
Connect with us via cable,Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube
(25:08):
by searching for County CableMoco.
Good day and welcome to What's Happening Moco, an
authentic, unscripted podcastfrom your Montgomery County
government.
Now, here's your host, DerekKenney.
SPEAKER_02 (00:16):
Good day, and welcome to What's Happening
Moco.
Today's episode, we haveresources from the county
government for those affected bythe government shutdown.
Whether you're being affected bythe complications of SNAP
benefits or the ongoing furloughof government workers, please
watch this episode.
We have a special guest, EarlStoddard.
He's an assistant chiefadministrative officer in charge
(00:37):
of resources and public safetyfor the Montgomery County
government.
Good day.
Welcome to the show, Earl.
Is it okay if I call you Earl?
Absolutely.
Thanks, Derek.
All right.
And I want to say thank you onbehalf of the residents and
others in the county for all thegood work that you've done
during COVID, which seems likeit was what a thousand years
ago, but just what two or threeyears ago, we were in the midst
of COVID and we've had all thoseprotocols and safety measures in
(00:59):
place.
And you had uh quite a role inthat.
Uh tell us a little bit aboutwhat you do now uh as assistant
chief administrative officer,and then a little bit about what
you did then.
And then let's get deep into theresources available to families
and individuals in the county uhwhen it comes to um the impact
(01:19):
of the furloughs and thecomplications with SNAP
benefits.
SPEAKER_00 (01:23):
Sure.
So I uh moved to the countyexecutive's office as an
assistant CAO in September of21.
So I've been, it's about fouryears, a little over four years
now that I've been working withthe county executive's office.
I'm one of three assistant CAOsat this point.
Um and we have a deputy CAO andthen obviously the chief
administrative officer, RichMatolino.
Um we as a team basically divideup all the functions of the
(01:44):
executive branch of governmentand have different portfolios
that we all focus on.
For me, obviously, given myhistory as the county's
emergency manager from 2016 to2021, uh, I took the public
safety portfolio amongst severalother things, including uh parts
of health and human servicesthat focus on uh homelessness
and homelessness prevention,behavioral health and mental
(02:04):
health services, uh, Office ofFood Systems Resilience.
And I also happen to have ourVision Zero portfolio portfolio
as well.
So it's a pretty broadportfolio.
SPEAKER_02 (02:14):
That's pretty big here.
You have Vision Zero, which isthe county's initiative to
improve uh pedestrian safety.
Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_00 (02:21):
All right.
How's that going?
It's a you know, it's one ofthose things where it feels like
it's one step forward, one stepback sometimes.
We uh we make progress and thenyou know we have we have an
unexpected fatality.
Um it's uh Vision Zero is one ofthose challenges where it's a
multi-billion dollar, multi-yearchallenge because we've got to
remake some of the designs ofour roadways.
And obviously, with technologylike uh cell phones, distracted
(02:43):
driving has increased a lot.
And so it's uh it feels like wemake progress uh and then you
know something happens and wefeel like we need to make more
progress.
So it's gonna be one of thosethings where it's gonna take a
generation of investment for usto address.
Awesome, awesome.
SPEAKER_02 (02:57):
And before we get to the subject, uh the the core
subject, what's what's one oftwo things that residents could
do to help you um achieve thegoals of Vision Zero?
SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
Yeah, so I think it's we all have a role to play
in um roadway safety.
Obviously, our pedestrians andour bicyclists are at the
greatest risk.
You know, those of us drivingoperate multi-ton vehicles uh
with the uh, you know, many ofus, many of us at this point
drive SUVs, which have a littlebit higher, sit higher, and all
make it very difficult forpeople to be see.
I think one of the things wetell people is be observant of
(03:31):
the roadways.
Do not be distracted by aconversation on your phone with
someone in the car with the textthat just came in with an email
that you're waiting for fromwork.
Um people don't take take takefor granted that things are just
gonna operate as they should onthe roadways and they often will
not.
And that, you know, that appliesto our drivers principally, but
it also applies to ourpedestrians and bicyclists.
(03:52):
You know, I I I we werediscussing before the show, I've
been doing a lot of walking.
So, you know, I know as apedestrian all the time, but I
need to be very cautious.
I don't assume that someone'sgonna stop at the stop sign.
I think that's important too.
It shouldn't be that way.
People should follow the rulesof the road, but the reality is
people are distracted and weneed to take that into account.
And so drivers, pedestrians,bicyclists just all have to play
(04:14):
a role in this and play a role,you know, make sure we
contribute.
SPEAKER_02 (04:17):
Fantastic.
And speaking of contribute, thecounty has been stepping up, as
has the state of Maryland's beenstepping up to help support
families and individualsaffected by the furloughs and
the complications involvingSNAP.
Uh, what let's let's cover someof the things and some of the
key resources um that areavailable um to those that
qualify within the county.
(04:38):
Uh and let's start with um foodinsecurity.
Uh, what are some of theresources available for people
that are facing food insecurity?
And by that, people that mightbe um short on funds for
groceries or for um lunches orbreakfast for their kids.
SPEAKER_00 (04:55):
Yeah, so let me start off by saying um sort of
this this government shutdown isreally tragic.
It's really affecting a lot ofour residents.
My wife actually is a furloughfurrow employee uh herself.
So uh it's affecting my familyand in not, you know, obviously
not to the extent that it'saffecting some families where
you've got two how two twobreadwinners or the primary
breadwinner of the house that'saffected by this.
(05:15):
And obviously we're we're tryingto think about all the different
angles of support that peoplewill need as we address this.
So let's start by let me let mepreface this by saying I'm gonna
talk a lot about differentservices today.
The easiest way to access any ofthese services is actually to
contact the county's 311service.
Okay.
Uh they'll connect you and and alot of these services are
eligibility-based, meaningthey'll do an assessment and
(05:35):
they'll be able to tell youthrough our Department of Health
Union Services and the partnersthat work with them, you're
eligible for A, B, and C or D Eand F.
And depending on yourcircumstances, they'll be able
to give you a lot ofinformation.
SPEAKER_02 (05:46):
So for the starting point, for those not um familiar
with 311, they can simply dial311 if they live in the county,
if they're in the county, and itwill route them to county
information services.
SPEAKER_00 (05:57):
Or if you're outside the county, but you uh you know
have an access to MontgomeryCounty, you can dial
240-777-0311 as well.
All right, thank you.
Uh and so that'll that'll getyou in and you'll you'll talk
you'll talk to someone.
It's you know, you'll you'll geta call taker and they'll,
depending on what you're askingfor, they'll direct you to the
right service from there.
SPEAKER_02 (06:14):
Oh, I'm sorry, a real human being?
Oh, a real human being.
SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
I know it's I know it's sort of quaint nowadays to
think about, but yeah, we we wedo that too.
That's powerful.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yep.
And so um, for food resources,obviously, this is something the
county has invested a ton in.
Actually, we we talked aboutCOVID before this, and this
really comes out of our work inCOVID, where food, food
availability and food securitywere such a prevalent issue
given the the closures, theimpacts on restaurants and
(06:37):
businesses.
We had a lot of people who wereunemployed.
Employment unemployment at thatpoint was through the roof, and
we knew we had to provide foodsupport.
So we actually stood up at thetime our food security task
force, which grew into ourOffice of Food Systems
Resilience, uh, led by uhDirector Heather Bruskin, who
came from us, came from theMontgomery County Food Council.
So the county invests about uh$23.5 million in food services.
(07:01):
Well just part of the normalbudget for this year.
Okay.
Uh 13 million of that goesthrough our Office of Food
Systems Resilience that aretypically given out via grants
that go to our nonprofitproviders.
A lot of the frontline work andfood is done by nonprofits.
It's been that way for as longas uh food support has existed.
We just actually aresupplementing and helping to
coordinate some of thoseefforts.
And so there are a plethora ofnonprofits around the community
(07:24):
that are offering foodassistance.
And many of them have actuallystood up additional hours and
services for furloughed federalworkers.
SPEAKER_02 (07:31):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (07:31):
The easiest way to access them, as I said, besides
311, is our Office of FoodSystems Resilience actually
maintains an entire calendar andmap of all the locations, the
times, how they can be accessed.
And depending on uh there aredelivery services, there are
drive-up services, there are byappointment food pantry where
you can go in and pick the foodyou want.
(07:52):
They have different hours anddifferent availabilities.
They're in every literally everyZipco to Montgomery County has a
food provider or more, more thanone potentially that's
associated with them.
And as I said, either through311 you can get that schedule,
or you can visit our Office ofFood Systems Resilience website.
There's a, as I said, you know,there's a link or at the top of
the page that says, Do you needfood?
(08:13):
Click on that, it goes and listsout the schedule and the map and
all the information to accessfood for across county.
SPEAKER_02 (08:20):
So not only are there food resources, but there
are different ways to accessthose resources, oftentimes
convenient.
Um, on the news, um, recentlyyou've seen across the country
lines of people that areimpacted by the furloughs and by
the complications with SNAPbenefits.
And I say uh complicationsbecause things are changing day
by day.
(08:40):
Even as we record this podcast,um, there's been a requirement
from the courts for the federalgovernment to pay some measure
of SNAP benefits.
So we'll uh we'll we'll see ifthat will happen.
Correct.
But even if that does nothappen, the county stands ready
and the the organizations youmentioned stand ready with food
resources.
SPEAKER_00 (09:01):
Yeah, and and uh obviously Governor Moore has
been a big assist in this.
Um so the there's contingencyfunds that the federal
government had that the courtordered them to utilize for SNAP
benefits.
Snap benefits across the countrycost about eight billion to
eight to nine billion dollars amonth.
Uh they had about five to sixbillion in the contingency
funds.
So essentially the federalgovernment initially committed
to say we'll cover half of theNovember distribution using
(09:25):
those contingency funds.
And the gut and Governor Moorecame and stepped right in and
said, if you're if they're gonnacover half, state of Maryland's
gonna cover the other half.
Oh, wow.
For the state of Maryland, it'sabout$62 million to cover half.
It's about$123 a month acrossthe state of Maryland.
It's about$12.5 million permonth in Montgomery County.
We have about$67,000, I think,people who are SNAP recipients
(09:46):
in Montgomery County, and 37,000of those are children.
So I think it's it gives you asense of the need within our
community.
And um, they are um they are inaddition to the SNAP benefits,
the governor also put$10 millioninto local food banks last week
that allows them those toimmediately get distributed to
area food providers like theCapillary Food Bank, Mana Food
(10:07):
Center, and all the smallernonprofits that utilize their
resources to distribute.
And so there are a ton ofavailable resources that are
being brought to bear, inaddition to the fact that, you
know, what we've really seen inMontgomery County is we have a
very generous population.
We have a lot of residents whoare willing to donate their time
and their money.
We have federal workers who arefurloughed, who are donating
(10:30):
their free time to work at foodpantries to serve their fellow
food, furloughed uh federalworkers or others who are
impacted by the shutdown.
So it goes to show whatMontgomery County has.
And what that means is we havenot yet seen those long, the
longest lines, because as Isaid, we have some, we have some
you know drive-up situations,but we also have by appointment,
(10:51):
we have food pantries uh thatwhere you can walk in and
essentially do a it's a lot likea uh trip to the sh uh to the
supermarket for people where youcan go to a list of shelves and
you can pick what you want totake with you.
And so you know, those um, youknow, select pantries are
available as well.
So I, you know, I think we'vegot a number of different
options.
We had invested in this beforethe fur the federal shutdown had
(11:13):
started.
There's additional resourcesafter the shutdown has begun.
Actually, the we've been workingwith the county council.
They they're actually in theprocess of passing a
supplemental appropriation toadd an additional three and a
half million dollars of foodresources.
So, you know, I would say thisis an area where um our county
executive has been reallycommitted to making sure that
there are a plethora of foodresources in Montgomery County.
(11:34):
I know that that's not gonna,you know, it doesn't always meet
the full need, but we are in amuch better position to with a
system that can augment tosupport our federal workers than
a lot of other places.
SPEAKER_02 (11:44):
Well, that's that's we we're gonna take a
opportunity here in the programto insert some applause.
Uh, and you'll hear it uh inthis recording for all the
people that are volunteering,the organizations that have
stepped up their capacity andtheir services, and also, of
course, the county governmentfor filling in the void, and of
course the governor and thecounty executive for providing
(12:05):
their leadership, but alsoresources that will directly
benefit uh the residents ofMontgomery County, Maryland.
Um, so when people go or theycall F11, what can they expect
uh the experience to be like?
What is uh when you go to pickup things, do you need to have
your ID?
Do you need to have paperwork?
SPEAKER_00 (12:23):
So tip so they'll do for most services, they'll do an
assessment of what's availableto you.
So for most food resources,there's nothing you need to
provide.
You show up, we're gonna serveyou.
Okay.
Uh that's in that's by design.
We're we're not trying, thoseare meant to be really open
opportunities where if you needfood, we're gonna get you food.
In fact, that we often allowpeople, and uh most of the
locations will allow you to pickup for multiple people as well.
(12:45):
But you should obviously onceyou go to 311, they'll give you
the best option.
You can review exactly what thewhat that site does to operate.
But many of the sites allow forpeople to pick up for multiple
families at once, things of thatnature.
It's meant to be an open andaccessible process.
And so by design, and we've beenworking with our partners for a
long time to make sure that weincrease those options.
(13:05):
And so you're not gonna need tobe able to demonstrate that you
have a need in most cases, ormaybe I can't think of any cases
where you'd have to demonstratethat you have a need, really.
If it's one of those thingswhere if you show up and we may
collect some some basicnon-identified non-identifiable
information like your zip codeor something like that, because
what we're trying to do isreally get a good assessment of
where the need is so we cancontinue to direct more
(13:26):
resources to the places thathave the most need.
So if if you get any questionsat all, it's questions that are
not going to be specific to youas an individual.
They're gonna be specific moreto um the kinds of services that
you need so that we can betterum dedicate our resources in the
places that have the most needand and are the that are the
most receptive.
SPEAKER_02 (13:47):
So fantastic, fantastic.
So it's a fairly easy andrespectful process um that
people should feel comfortableuh coming out and getting help.
Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (13:57):
I mean, that's that's why they exist.
That's why, you know, it's whywe have a strong local
government that partners withour strong nonprofit um
partners.
We wanna we we we know peopleare struggling.
We want to make sure that wehave the resources available to
help them.
SPEAKER_02 (14:11):
Fantastic.
Now, for those workers, uhfurlough workers, that may be, I
think the saying is that mostpeople and families are too with
repaychecks away um from beinghomeless.
Um that's anecdotal, but there'ssome truth to that.
Um so there may be some uhfurlough workers that may be
facing um trouble with rent,trouble with mortgages, um,
(14:35):
trouble with things of uhfinancial nature that the
furlough has really put them andtheir families in a bit of
financial distress.
What resources are availablewhen it comes to housing um for
furloughed workers or otherworkers that uh may need
assistance?
SPEAKER_00 (14:51):
Yep.
And I'll just reiterate that allthese can be available through
our 301 system.
You'll you'll get you'll getthem.
So our service standard preventhomelessness has a number of uh
rental assistance programs thatdepending on and you you there
are there are there are thingsthat will increase your
qualifications.
So for example, if you're overthe age of 55, if you're
disabled in any way, there thatwe have obviously programs that
are niche that will help andexpand the the resources
(15:15):
available.
But again, it depends in part.
This is where this is onecategory where there's going to
be an eligibility determinationbecause um, you know, we have a
lot of residents in need who arenot furlough federal workers
that we're trying to make surethat we have uh equitable
resources available to.
But this is one of those thingswhere they'll do an assessment
for you, your individualcircumstances, and they'll
(15:37):
provide um, you know, basicallyguidance on what you're eligible
for in this space.
But uh, as I said, there'smillions of dollars available
every year for rental assistancein Montgomery County.
We regularly do work on evictionprevention, for example, to make
sure that we are we areprioritizing the resources that
are going to keep people housedand make sure that they're
they're comfortable.
(15:57):
Um and obviously I think thatthe, you know, within the
federal workforce, obviouslythere are contractors for whom
the expectation is that you willnot necessarily get your
paycheck back once the federalgovernment goes back.
If you're a federal worker who'sjust on furlough, obviously the
presumption at this point isuntil we, you know, by law,
they're required to give youback pay.
(16:18):
And so obviously in thosesituations, we're really trying
to just buy someone the timethat they need to be able to get
to the next paycheck.
Whereas if you're a contractoror someone who's not going to be
getting back pay, those are thethose we're going to prioritize
some of our resources towardsthose individuals to make sure
because their situation is notgoing to be improved when the
(16:39):
when the federal government doesget back to work.
And so this is this is one areawhere there are absolutely
resources available to people.
Uh, they are a lot of resourcesavailable depending on the
nature of the, you know, thecircumstances of the individual
person, their age, their theirhealth status, et cetera.
Um, but really, this is whereour Department of Health and
Human Services will do thatintake assessment and be able to
(17:01):
tell people what they'reeligible for.
SPEAKER_02 (17:02):
Incredible.
Great.
And so the the level ofresources and the type of
resources available aredepending on the situation of
the individual.
So that's fantastic.
That's whether you had existingneeds before, or if you are
temporarily need have needs as afellow federal worker, or if
you're a contractor, all thosethings have been considered.
Um what a thoughtful, it musthave been a very thoughtful
(17:25):
process to um develop theapproach to providing resources
in this uh, I will say, uniquesituation where we are at a
record-setting length uhfurlough for federal government
workers.
SPEAKER_00 (17:37):
Yeah, I mean, I I hate to go back to COVID, but I
think a lot, you know, there's alot of parallels to the federal
shutdown with COVID in the sensethat you have economic
interruption, you have peoplenot being gonna go to the
workplace, you're having, youknow, when you have economic uh
interruption, we know what thatleads to.
People have to make hard choicesabout am I gonna feed my family
today or am I gonna pay my rent?
(17:59):
Right.
And so we know that we want totry and make every one of those
avenues easier.
And oh, by the way, we're alsotrying to provide people
resources where, hey, if youdon't want to, how can you
retrain, you know, get you re,you know, prepare your resume so
that if you don't want to keepdealing with the the this
federal shutdown of you and tryand find other employment, we're
gonna help you try and find thattoo.
So we're trying to tackle thisfrom every angle.
(18:20):
You know, make sure that youhave um because we know that if
if you have rent pressures, itaffects your ability to pay for
your health care, it affectsyour ability to feed your
family, it affects your abilityto make your car payment.
And so obviously, we're tryingto address tackle every one of
those angles because we knowthat they're so interconnected
that you're going to, it's gonnahave cascading effects.
(18:41):
Wonderful.
SPEAKER_02 (18:41):
Do you also provide uh in terms of not just
physical, uh fiscal resources,do you also provide uh advice
for how to manage uh a temporarysetback situation like the for
our workers?
Yes, how to contact your yourcreditors or that are yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (18:59):
Yeah.
So we definitely offer thisthrough um, this is one of those
things where we when we when wedo uh we get a case, people are
assigned a case manager whenthey start working with us.
And so the case manager is goingto have a number of different
resources that are gonna beavailable to them that will
include guidance on how to bestmanage resources like that.
That's what you know, it's wehave we we have sort of a
detailed social um you know,social service process that
(19:24):
includes because like our ourour goal in Montgomery County is
to make our resources go as faras possible.
And so what we do is we say,hey, can we can we it maybe
money that makes makes makesthings better, but it may also
be a conversation with yourlandlord.
It may be like there are thereare different avenues where
we're not gonna automaticallyjust write a check to someone if
(19:46):
we think that we can help themwith another process that's
gonna not have us write thatcheck because we know that we
need those resources for someoneelse too.
And so that's all part of thework that our case managers and
social workers do in ourDepartment of Health and Human
Services once people reach outto them for services and
they'll, you know, we we we takegreat pride in the fact that we
do a lot of wraparound servicefor providing in Montgomery
(20:07):
County.
And we have we we have a veryunique uh Department of Health
and Human Services in the stateof Maryland.
We're actually the only countyin the state of Maryland that
has a joint Department of Healthand Human Services.
This is something we've actuallyuniquely taken on in Montgomery
County as a responsibilitylocally that traditionally mo
much of the human services towork across the state is a state
function.
We're we're the only county thathas has essentially we're we're
(20:30):
uh effectively grandfathered into be able to provide social
services at a direct level.
And so we take great pride inthat and uh have developed a
real system that allows us to dothat.
SPEAKER_02 (20:40):
Right.
Now, other than the foodinsecurity and of course things
like rent um and advice onmanaging uh rent and mortgage
payments and how to deal withcreditors, what are some of the
other resources that have uhcome to the forefront as needs
and that the county might beable to assist with?
SPEAKER_00 (20:57):
Yeah, so we stood up uh um uh the American Job
Center, which is uh focused onfederal workers, obviously
because this year began with abunch of federal worker firings.
Yeah.
You know, the federal governmentdid a lot of that.
And so, you know, we stood up aa uh a center actually in
Wheaton that allows for peopleto walk in who are federal
workers.
It helps them with resumebuilding, interviewing, um, you
(21:20):
know, it connects them.
You can get connect directlyconnected there to food services
and other other uh through manaactually is operating the the
food supports through ourAmerican Job Center.
And you can actually getadditional resources in a
one-stop shop there for federalworkers.
The other thing we also do is umwe know how stressful this
(21:40):
period is.
And so there's a lot of mentalhealth resources available to
our federal workers and furloughfederal workers.
Um, because, you know, as Isaid, my wife is, you know, I
just know there's a lot ofthere's a perception that I
think the furlough federalworkers are like, oh, this is a
group, this is a vacation forthem.
It's not.
There, these people are um byand large, dedicated so civil
(22:01):
servants.
They want to be going in anddoing the work of the people.
Um, and you know, my wife hascancer research, so yeah, she
she got into that because mymother-in-law is a multiple-time
cancer survivor, so she'sinvested in the work.
And so I can see how federalworkers would be struggling
because you know, they havetheir life's work has been
essentially denied to them forwhat, 35, 36 days at this point,
(22:25):
and with no end in sight,unfortunately.
And so we know that the mentalstresses of um, you know, of
that are um are will wear onpeople.
And so we we've expanded ourmental health services.
Those can be access accessed ifit's an emergency need.
Obviously, 988 is available toanyone across the county uh for
(22:46):
for those services or our crisiscenter, or you can just contact
311 if you just want, if youthink you need just more uh
guidance on accessing other sortof non-emergent needs for mental
health.
And so that's another area thatwe've we've focused a lot on.
Um I think I think I mean Ithink those are I think the
breadth of resources that we Idon't want to I don't want to
(23:07):
say that in all cases therearen't other things that uh you
know, depending on the ifsomeone had a unique
circumstance where likeutilities assistance, for
example, that's another areawhere we have resources.
Um you know, depending on theunique circumstances of
individuals, our social serviceteam has a really good job of
like basically offering someonea whole plethora of different
services that they might beeligible for, doing the
(23:28):
assessment, saying, Oh, youqualify for A, D, and F, and
someone else maybe A, C, and D,as opposed to, you know, for
what they qualify for.
And so there are other services.
So I think the best thing Iwould tell people is get
connected with through 311 withour Department of Health Human
Services.
They'll do, they'll begin to doan intensive case management
process with the individual, andthey're really good at
(23:51):
maximizing the benefits someonecan receive.
SPEAKER_02 (23:53):
Fantastic.
And the county providingbenefits and resources to the
residents as a county should, asa great county of Montgomery
County should.
Uh, and that's what's happening,Moco.
Earl Stoddard, thank you so muchfor being here today.
Um, thank you so much to the uhChief Administrative's office
and officer, uh Rich Mandalino,um, for allowing you to be here
today, and then also for all thegreat things that you guys do,
(24:15):
not only for the employees ofMontgomery County, Maryland, but
also directly for the residentsof the county as well.
Thank you.
Uh, and for those of you outthere, please take this episode,
uh, like, subscribe, pleaseshare these resources with
others that may need them.
This is a critical time, and weshould take this information.
We should use it, we shouldshare it, and we should make
(24:35):
sure that our fellow residentsare doing as good as possible in
this the beginning of the mostwonderful time of year as we
celebrate Thanksgiving and theholidays.
SPEAKER_01 (24:46):
Thanks for listening to What's Happening Now Code.
Please subscribe via yourfavorite podcast, and follow us
on Facebook.
This podcast is brought to youby County Cable Montgomery, your
source for news and informationfrom the Montgomery County
government.
Connect with us via cable,Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube
(25:08):
by searching for County CableMoco.
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