After Veronica Flynn served for almost nine years and went on two deployments with the U.S. Navy, she took a job at the Medical Readiness Clinic at Fort Meade to continue to help soldiers.

“I thought this would be another way for me to serve my community,” Flynn said.

Now Flynn, who is supporting three kids and paying a mortgage, has been furloughed because of the longest federal government shutdown in history. She is among the roughly 700,000 veterans who are federal workers, many of whom have been furloughed as well.

“It’s very depressing,” Flynn said. “It feels like what I do has no value and that my efforts coming in every day don’t mean anything to anybody.”

Her husband, who is also a veteran, is employed at the Department of Transportation and is working only when he is called in. The couple have relied on Prince George’s County free lunches for students with parents who have been furloughed. It helps keep their kids fed and relieves financial pressure, she said.

Flynn sat on a bench with her two kids watching a crowd of hundreds of active-duty military members and veterans Saturday afternoon commemorate their service at the Veterans Day parade in Baltimore. Though the event was mostly celebratory, some veterans expressed concerns for their community in the midst of a shutdown, threats to cut Veterans Affairs and the reshaping of the military under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Although Veterans Affairs disability checks are paid during the shutdown, many worry about veterans who are homeless and in need of housing programs and food assistance. (You can visit the Veterans Affairs site for more information on its operations during the shutdown.)

Dena Allen-Few, an Army veteran who served in the Iraq war, works at the Bob Parsons Veterans Center at the University of Baltimore. She said the students she assists — both veterans and active-duty military members — face housing and food insecurity. During the shutdown, many of her students have not received their benefits, including tuition assistance, she said.

“When the government shuts down, we’re suffering along with everybody else,” Allen-Few said. “But then we’re also having the added impact of whatever emotional turmoil we went through in our service.”

She added that some of her students also rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which has been in limbo as Congress has failed to agree on a federal budget and funding has run out. Gov. Wes Moore agreed to pay 50% of those benefits to Marylanders starting Tuesday.

Over 1 million veterans use SNAP in the United States, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities.

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, who joined veterans at the parade in Baltimore, said he’s waiting on Speaker Mike Johnson to call the House into session for budget negotiations.

“We got to get work done,” Mfume said. “We can’t play this game of got you, where the speaker continues to say that he won’t do anything until there’s a deal.”

Veterans Affairs is also operating with a reduced workforce. About 30,000 VA positions were cut this year, according to Veterans Affairs. This has raised alarm in the veterans community, with many worried it would impact access to health care.

Bobby LaPin, an Army veteran also known as “Captain Bobby,” said veterans have been fighting the government to receive health care and disability benefits.

“There was the deal that was made: You serve your country, you get hurt, we take care of you,” LaPin said. “Right now, it’s under attack.”

Besides monetary cuts, some veterans said they were concerned about other changes in recent months, such as the deployment of the National Guard in American cities and negative rhetoric toward women in the military.

For Flynn, her exasperation grows during the shutdown.

Although she believes in holding out for the health care benefits Democrats have said they are negotiating for, she is frustrated that there hasn’t been a deal. Flynn who was going to work each day before being furloughed, was told she might need to look for another job.

“Why should I have to try to get another job?” Flynn said. “I did not quit my job. I’m very good at my job. It’s other people who haven’t done their job, and they’re still getting paid.”

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct number of VA jobs cut this year.