Houston federal workers feeling the strain of government shutdown
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Federal employees in Houston are feeling the strain of the government shutdown.
Friday marks the first day that thousands of those workers have missed a paycheck. Saturday, the funding lapse will become the longest on record.
Employees at NASA are being told to stay home, while other federal workers, like members of the Coast Guard, are working without pay.
For Tricia Hargrove, whose husband is serving in the Coast Guard, the government shutdown isn't political. It's personal.
"You know, we have mouths to feed, we have kids in diapers, and it's worrisome for sure," Hargrove said.
Hargrove and her husband have three young kids, but right now they have no paycheck.
"We depend on this paycheck to take care of our family and it's something that should be expected and we deserve," Hargrove said.
Hargrove lives in Galveston. She drove to Ellington Field to pick up diapers for her kids from the USO and Tejano Veterans Association, who were collecting donations for families in need.
"It's a lot of stress on the military right now," said Danny Matta, with the Tejano Veterans Association.
Our men and women in uniform aren't the only ones finding it harder to make ends meet.
Thomas Hast with JSC Federal Credit Union worked an informational open house for furloughed NASA employees.
"It's NASA, it's contractors, there's a whole community of people that are missing," Hast said.
Hast said thousands of people are applying for loans as their savings run out.
"They're missing their payments, rent, mortgage payments, that sort of thing, so this is going to help get them through to the next time period," Hast said. "Hopefully this will be over soon and we can all go back to work."
