Atlanta Civic Circle has been asking our readers since March how federal policy changes from the Trump administration – such as firings, funding freezes, tariffs and other executive orders – are affecting their day-to-day lives. As of this week, more than 81 individuals and businesses across metro Atlanta have responded to our Community Impact Survey.
What we’re hearing from them is a flood of emotions — fear, frustration, and uncertainty — but also solidarity and resilience.
Of the 68 individuals who responded, seven reported losing their jobs due to new federal actions. “The communal anxiety and depression is worse than COVID,” wrote one respondent from East Atlanta, who recently lost their job.
Others who are still employed say they’re bracing for impact — expecting pink slips, furloughs, or workplace funding cuts any day now. Even those untouched by direct job losses describe feeling a cloud of financial uncertainty hanging over their lives.
Along with job insecurity, mental health concerns, access to housing, and basic affordability were common threads. Here are six individual responses that show how this moment is impacting real people in our communities.
“I fear I’ll become homeless if nothing changes.”
Fairburn resident Jackie Welch, who is over 55, says recent federal actions have already disrupted her employment. She’s currently job hunting and struggling to make ends meet. Welch lists the basics she now needs help to afford: medication, rent, electricity, food. “I fear I’ll become homeless if nothing changes,” she says.
As for how to mitigate the impact of the federal actions, Welch points to a need for stronger protections for disabled people and more local public support systems — ones that aren’t so dependent on volatile policy shifts in Washington.
“The worst effect is the intentional sowing of chaos and fear.”
In downtown Atlanta, Jennifer Brooks says she’s unsure of the direct impact of federal policy actions on her finances. But she’s certain about their emotional toll. “The worst effect is the intentional sowing of chaos and fear,” she says. “This is divisive at every level and causes people to fall into despair and anger.”
Brooks wants local governments and civic organizations to offer clarity in confusing times, distilling facts from fear. She recently heard Jill Savitt, CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, quote Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at an event: “Infinite hope suggests something deeper… Infinite hope is a refusal to surrender to despair.”
Those words have stuck with her, Brooks says.
“It has been sad and stressful since November.”
L., a federal worker who requested only her first initial be used, says she hasn’t been laid off yet, but she expects to be.
“It was incredible how unprepared we [in the federal workforce] were for the deluge of cruelty, chaos, and hatred since January 20th,” says the Virginia Highlands resident. “The bright spot has been the solidarity among coworkers, trying to figure out how to better support each other while continuing to serve as long as we can.”
Universal health insurance, assistance finding local work opportunities, and even “0% loans or gifted funds to cover housing/household expenses,” she says, would help ease the impact. Above all, she wants to feel like her skills matter in a time when federal systems feel more fragile than ever.
“Federal unpredictability is hurting my neighbors — and consequently, me.”
Inman Park resident Sofia Stafford hasn’t lost her job. But that doesn’t mean she feels secure.
“The reliance on federal policy for support is detrimental to my neighbors — and consequently, me,” says Stafford, a younger millennial. “Federal policy changes based on who is in office creates massive unpredictability.”
She wants to see more local support for housing and small businesses — anything that can help stabilize life on the ground, no matter who’s in power at the federal level. “Local government incentives for the entities that directly affect the local economy” would go a long way, she says, such as “tax breaks for local developers, affordable housing incentives, small business loans, transportation opportunities.”
“The uncertainty is especially burdensome [for] a new homeowner with a mortgage to pay.”
One metro Atlanta respondent, who chose to remain anonymous, says they haven’t lost their job, but they’re feeling “uncertainty about long-term economic conditions,” including job security and employment prospects.
“My partner is a federal employee. I’ve seen firsthand how this administration’s contempt for public servants has negatively impacted his mental wellbeing,” they say. “We both worry about the possibility of his suddenly being fired.”
The uncertainty is especially stressful, they say, because their partner is a new homeowner with a mortgage. The respondent also pointed to the broader, ripple effects on their community: “My neighborhood has seen the closure of community schools, partially due to uncertainty over federal education funding,” they say.
“I live in constant fear for the future of this nation and for democracy.”
Sam Marie Engle in Chamblee hasn’t been laid off — but she suspects she’ll be affected soon. As an over-55 American, she worries about the bigger picture.
“I live in constant fear for the future of this nation and for democracy,” she says. “I am watching our vital sectors — education, health care, nonprofits — getting targeted for elimination and muzzling and wonder what we can do to stop it.”
Engle suggests creative, community-driven solutions to keep people afloat, like local bartering systems and more dialogue between voters and elected officials. But her underlying message was simple: People are scared, and they don’t feel heard.
Hope and solidarity still surface
Despite the uncertainty they’re feeling, many respondents said they’ve also seen sparks of resilience: coworkers banding together, neighbors looking out for one another, and community groups stepping up in ways that their elected representatives haven’t.
More than anything, the responses to our survey make one thing clear: People are trying to figure out solutions, both locally and nationally.
And for many, simply knowing that others feel the same way is part of that solution.
We want to hear from you. Click here to take our survey and share your perspective.
Thank you for asking the questions and for sharing respondents’ words. This is effecting everybody, in different ways.
One point to clarify — I’m in Downtown Atlanta (not Midtown as is written)