cushion the effect(s) of (something)

To ease or lessen the pain, stress, or burden of something unpleasant. These stimulus checks aim to cushion the effect of the recession on the average citizen. There's no way to cushion the effects of pain and loss when you have to tell somebody their loved one didn't make it through surgery. The government still has done nothing to cushion the effects of the devastating floods on the very people whose communities were washed away!