DENVER — For many, the well is running dry.
"Now that unemployment has expired, I really don’t know what I’m going to do," said Jake Douglas.
Millions of Americans are no longer receiving a weekly $600 unemployment benefit supplement as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
"I stay up at night thinking, 'What am I gonna do? I’ve already lost one apartment because of COVID, I lost my job," Mariah Wood said of her current financial situation.
Both Wood and Douglas lost their jobs in the food service industry at DIA around the same time. Wood, unable to pay rent, moved in with Douglas. The couple was getting by on the unemployment checks.
"It really had been a godsend when congress passed that $600. It really was the difference for me between being able to pay groceries and rent and possibly losing my home" Douglas said.
That changed at the end of July when the stimulus money stopped coming in.
"Right now we’re looking at eviction. Right now we’re looking at starvation - literally starving to death, and they can’t get a deal," Wood said.
Republicans and Democrats at Friday's meeting called negotiations "disappointing."
President Trump threatened to step in with an executive order if a deal isn't made soon.
For millions, like Douglas and Wood, if something is going to happen, it needs to happen fast.
"As food service workers we have been feeding people and now you’re about to let us starve," Wood said.
