The shutdown woes have stretched all the way to Southwest Virginia. People tell us they're nervous and expect Congress to make decisions that will benefit the people they serve.

The bottom line here is that people are scared. They're afraid that if a million government workers are without a job now, they could be next if the shutdown goes on for too long. Proving that the worry is spreading outside the Beltway.

A church is the last place you'd expect politics to be top of mind, but for parishioners of Celebration Church of God in Roanoke, it's hard to ignore what's happening on Capitol Hill.

"If the government shutdown continues the private sector is going to be affected and there's going to be less and less hiring in the private sector as well so I'm scared. I'm scared and I think a lot of people are," Roanoke resident Stephanie Minnick told Your Hometown News Leader.

And that fear is spreading. The last government shut down happened 17 years ago during the Clinton Administration. Furloughs lasted 21 days. It's a frightening reality people don't want to face again.

"If it stays shut down long enough it will be more than a trickle-down effect, it will be a flooding effect and I'm afraid it will hit our economy," Roanoke resident, Sam Belisle, told WDBJ7.

Some worry the fallout in Washington will spread to the rest of the nation, others say only real leadership will solve the problem, not a game of political tug-of-war.

Ryan Duke lives in Roanoke and says, "some leaders in the Congress are being kind of childish that are stubborn on the issues and they don't want to give either way. Meanwhile, the everyday citizen trying to do their job, they're suffering from it."

A suffering that could be eased with cooperation among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.