BREMERTON, Wash. — Federal workers in Kitsap County, Washington, are facing financial difficulties as the government shutdown continues to leave them unpaid.
Washington state has nearly 80,000 federal workers, and Kitsap County leads the state in the number of federal workers at 21,400.
“To just like know that we’re not going to get paid. But I also didn’t know it was going to be this long. So that was scary,” said Danielle Davies, whose husband is a federal worker and veteran.
Essential federal workers, such as those employed at the Navy shipyard in Bremerton, are not eligible for unemployment benefits, forcing families to cut back on expenses.
Federal working families have been advised they can use food banks, although many are hesitant due to the strain on these resources, especially with SNAP benefits ending soon.
But now, local businesses, including 303 Coffee Co., are doing their part to give back to the community that has supported them for so long.
They are offering discounted services and products to support these workers during the shutdown.
“Kitsap is so great because of how strong our community love is. There’s tons of restaurants, ton of coffee stands, not just us that are offering free coffees, discounted rates, so on and so forth,” said Lexie Shaye, owner of 303 Coffee Co.
Meanwhile, special commissary gift cards are also being distributed to military families at JBLM to help them purchase essentials like diapers.
Ryan Elwell from Mission Outdoors noted, “Morale is the biggest thing that I’ve seen impacted this week is just having to go and ask for help, which is a humbling experience.”
If you’d like to donate to the commissary gift card program, click here or go to missionoutdoors.org.
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