2026年3月14日 / 美国东部时间晚上10:05 / CBS新闻
华盛顿—一年前，丽贝卡·弗格森-翁德雷（Rebecca Ferguson-Ondrey）和德鲁·鲁比-豪（Drew Ruby-Howe）突然被美国卫生与公众服务部解雇。
他们是超过30万名离开联邦政府的员工之一，这是特朗普第二届政府下属的政府效率部（DOGE）削减计划的一部分。
弗格森-翁德雷表示，最初的日子里她难以应对。
“有很多泪水，我让孩子们坐下，告诉他们我被解雇了……进行这些对话真的很困难，”弗格森-翁德雷告诉CBS新闻。
但正是弗格森-翁德雷和鲁比-豪之间的一次私人谈话带来了突破。
“我们在生活中经历过失去：年少时失去了父亲，”鲁比-豪说。“所以，我们知道悲伤是什么样子。”
他们指出，失去工作标志着一种不同类型的悲伤。
“我想说，公共服务的奉献精神有其独特之处，”鲁比-豪说。
“这是事业，是身份，是使命的丧失，”弗格森-翁德雷补充道。“一下子失去所有这些对很多人来说是毁灭性的。”
被解雇后的几天内，他们发起了WellFed，一个为被解雇联邦雇员提供支持的新团体。
“最初是20名前联邦雇员和承包商在一个赞助空间里，吃着披萨，带着祈祷开始的，现在已经发展成为全国近5000名成员的组织，”鲁比-豪透露。
WellFed主要由志愿者组成，在国会山为联邦雇员发声，并举办了100多场线下和线上研讨会，帮助人们管理财务、完善简历和培养心理健康。
到目前为止，约25%的成员已经找到了新工作。
“有太多的治愈，你知道，还有互相扶持，这帮助我们治愈了伤痛，”弗格森-翁德雷谈到目前的悲伤历程时表示。
鲁比-豪补充道：“人们每天都需要这种支持，因为对于那些还没有找到方向的人来说，每一天都是重要的一天。所以我们在这里，并且不会离开。”
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-two-fired-federal-workers-helping-others-like-them/
2 former federal workers turned their firings into a movement to help hundreds of others
March 14, 2026 / 10:05 PM EDT / CBS News
Washington— One year ago, Rebecca Ferguson-Ondrey and Drew Ruby-Howe were abruptly terminated from their jobs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
They are among more than 300,000 workers to leave the federal government as part of cuts by the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Ferguson-Ondrey said she did not cope well in those initial days.
“There were a lot of tears, sitting my kids down and telling them that I had been fired from my job…That was really difficult to have those conversations,” Ferguson-Ondrey told CBS News.
But it was a personal conversation between Ferguson-Ondrey and Ruby-Howe that led to a breakthrough.
“We’d been through loss in our lives: lost our fathers at young ages,” Ruby-Howe said. “And so, we understood what grief looked like.”
And they noted the loss of their jobs marked a different kind of grief.
“I would say there’s something distinct about the dedication of the public service,” Ruby-Howe said.
“It’s career, and it’s identity, and it’s loss of mission,” Ferguson-Ondre said. “To lose all of that right in one fell swoop is devastating for so many folks.”
Within days of their firings, they launched WellFed, a new support group for fired federal workers.
“What started out as 20 former federal workers and contractors in a sponsored space, with pizza and a prayer, became now what is almost 5,000 members across the country,” Ruby-Howe disclosed.
A mostly volunteer group, WellFed has advocated for federal workers on Capitol Hill and hosted more than 100 in-person and virtual workshops to help people navigate their finances, build their resumes, and nurture their mental health.
So far, about 25% of their members have found new jobs.
“There’s been so much healing, you know, and lifting other people up, that has helped us heal,” Ferguson-Ondrey said of the grief journey so far.
Added Ruby-Howe: “People need this support every day, because every day is a big thing for people who haven’t quite found their way yet. So we’re here, and we’re not going anywhere.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/how-two-fired-federal-workers-helping-others-like-them/
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