Locals helping workers through shutdown
Ernesto Alonso, owner of Ghent’s Plaza Del Sol restaurant, said he remembers serving in the Marine Corps as an E-1, living paycheck to paycheck at best.
It all came back to him on Sunday, when a Coast Guard couple came into his restaurant on Colonial Avenue for free tacos. He’s giving them out to any federal workers affected by the shutdown — a chance, he said, to “do the right thing.”
“They ate and wanted to thank me,” Alonso said. “They were both in the Coast Guard in Portsmouth, and she told me times were going to be tough. She gave me a hug, thanked me and started to cry. It was really emotional.”
While the government is shut down, people in Hampton Roads are stepping up.
Local organizations, individuals and businesses are helping fill the gap for federal government workers who are starting to miss paychecks as the partial government shutdown stretches into its fourth week.
Alonso said not many people have come for the free tacos, but he expects that to change.
“I don’t think the times have really hit some people just yet,” he said. “And to be honest, I didn’t really understand until people started coming in.” Alonso is also accepting donations to help feed those affected.
All 22 locations of the YMCA of South Hampton Roads are waiving January fees for those affected by the shutdown. Virginia Beach’s Kahiau’s Bakery and Cafe is offering a free bagel or breakfast sandwich to furloughed workers who present an ID.
The Destruction Room in Virginia Beach is giving furloughed workers “free stress relief” by allowing them to smash items for free.
Carol Eye, who lives in Portsmouth, started a drive to collect food and money for families who have been affected. On Monday, she collected donations at Royal Farms on Churchland Boulevard.
The mother of four wanted to support families who need help because her fiancé is in the Navy, and she saw how many Coast Guard employees weren’t being paid.
“I wanted to do something to at least try to help alleviate that problem,” she said. Eye said she wants people to know it’s OK to ask for help.
Down in northeastern North Carolina, the Food Bank of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City normally opens twice a week, but has started opening for a third day so those affected can feed their families.
The Food Bank will be open Tuesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. through the shutdown. Spokesman Brian Gray expects more people to show up as savings accounts are drained.
“Word of mouth will spread pretty quickly, I’d imagine,” he said.
The Food Bank itself is feeling the strain of the shutdown. It depends on grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for about a fifth of its food. Funding was approved through February.
“We won’t be able to place any new orders because there is no funding,” Gray said. “We’ll be more and more dependent on our retail partners like Food Lion and Walmart, and on private donations.”
At least 550 federal workers who are furloughed have filed for unemployment benefits in Virginia — and the number continues to climb, especially in the past week, said Bill Walton, director of unemployment insurance for the Virginia Employment Commission.
Federal workers who are furloughed or are working without pay are allowed to apply for the benefits, which range from $60 per week for 12 weeks to a maximum of $378 per week for 26 weeks. They must repay any unemployment benefits they received if they get back pay when the government reopens.
James Ecker, 37, a computer scientist at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, said he finally filled out an unemployment application on Friday.
He said he hasn’t been paid in two weeks, and because he’s home with his daughter while their normal daycare at Langley is closed, he hasn’t been able to take up offers for temporary work from people who want to help.
On Friday, three weeks into the shutdown, Ecker took money from his savings account for the first time since it started, he said. That drove him to seek unemployment — helpful, but “it’s not a replacement for my paycheck that we’re normally budgeted for.”
Meanwhile, his time-sensitive research at Langley is on his mind.
“We’re falling behind,” he said.
Some other ways locals are helping
■ SNAP recipients in Virginia will get their February food benefits early.
■ Christopher Newport University is waiving its $65 application fee for children of federal employees or contractors missing paychecks.
■ Mona Lisa Restaurant & Bar on Military Highway in Norfolk is offering a free slice of pizza to Coast Guard members until they get a paycheck.
■ Navy Federal Credit Union has been offering its eligible members no-interest, direct deposit loans. Of 8 million people who bank with the credit union nationwide, a little more than 100,000 have been affected by the shutdown. As of Friday, about 12,000 people had enrolled in its program, which was originally set up to cover a portion of one paycheck but will now cover two paydays.
■ Wags Doggie Daycare on 21st Street in Ghent is offering free day care for the dogs of government employees not being paid. It applies only to current Wags customers.
■ Mike’s Mechanical in Newport News is offering up to $200 of HVAC servicing to those within 25 miles of its office. If the work costs more, federal employees can defer payment until they receive back pay. Staff writers Lee Tolliver, Saleen Martin and Kimberly Pierceall contributed to this report.