Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh is offering help to federal government employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay.

Catholic Charities is offering the assistance at its main office in Pittsburgh and five regional offices including the Butler County office.

Available assistance and support includes bus vouchers, gasoline gift cards, prescription payments, baby care items, food gift cards for needed items not available through the food bank, one month of utility assistance to avoid service shut offs and counseling services for workers in need of support.

Susan Rauscher, Catholic Charities executive director, said providing help and support to federal employees affected by the partial government shutdown fits the organization's mission.

“It fits very much in the mission that we do. We make ourselves available when people are in need. Often times, that comes when the person asking for assistance doesn't do anything to bring it on themselves — people who are suddenly and unexpectedly without income and are unable to meet their needs because of that,” Rauscher said. “So, we provide some support until they start getting paychecks again.”

Catholic Charities emergency relief fund comes from donations and is usually used to help victims of such natural disasters as floods.

“It's not limitless,” Rauscher said.

Donations will go toward assistance and the replenishing of the relief fund, she said.

Federal employees seeking assistance should bring the letters they received from the government saying they have been furloughed — or required to work, but won't be paid — or their last wage statement and identification to the office in their county or the main office in Pittsburgh to receive assistance, she said.

“I believe they all received letters and that would be sufficient along with ID,” Rauscher said.

Most assistance will be provided on the spot, but utility bills must be verified before Catholic Charities will provide the payments, she said.

Catholic Charities' offer of assistance started Wednesday and Rauscher said she doesn't know how many people will come or how long the organization will offer assistance.

“This is our first go-round with this,” she said.

The staff of 97 and volunteers at all six offices will process requests, but more volunteers can be summoned if necessary, she said.

“Volunteers are a core component of what we do here and we rely on our volunteers,” Rauscher said.