Local Coast Guard families cope with shutdown

Hundreds of local Coast Guard personnel missed paychecks. The worst part, one spouse says, is not knowing when it will end.|

As the partial government shutdown grinds on, Samantha Smith and her husband, a Coast Guard cook based in Sonoma County, are trying to make ends meet and raise three young children without receiving a paycheck.

The family lives at the Coast Guard training center near Petaluma and survives solely on the income from Senior Chief Petty Officer Christopher Smith, who works as a culinary specialist. He’s among thousands of active duty Coast Guard members in the greater Bay Area who Jan. 15 missed the first paycheck of 2019.

The Coast Guard, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, is the only military branch operating without pay during the longest shutdown in government history.

“It’s been stressful,” said Samantha Smith, who is the president of the nonprofit Coast Guard Spouses’ Association Petaluma. “It’s the not knowing that’s the worst. You just don’t know and no one can tell us when the next paycheck is going to be. No one can tell us when things will start to settle down.”

Coast Guard members received a one-time payment Dec. 31, but the family has dipped into savings to cover costs, Smith said. They’ve cut their grocery bill by switching to a diet heavier on noodles, rice and beans, called off road trips during the Christmas holiday and started hunting for coupons.

“The Coast Guard motto is ‘Semper Paratus,’ which means ‘always ready,’” said Smith, 35. “That’s the lifestyle we’re used to leading … the unofficial motto is ‘Semper Gumby’ - ‘always be flexible.’ That’s what we’re trying to do and make the best with what we have. That’s what we’re doing as a family and as a community.”

Kim Sullivan, a civilian Coast Guard employee who has been furloughed since the shutdown began Dec. 22, was forced to take out a loan to cover rent and bills for her Santa Rosa home. The single mother of two sons was already living paycheck to paycheck, and the lost wages dealt a large blow. She’s signing her children up for free lunches at school and stocking her pantry with donations from the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

“It’s definitely stressful. I don’t like having to ask for help,” said Sullivan, 44, an administrative assistant at a chapel on the base near Petaluma. “I want to be an independent person. But since I have no money coming in, I have to ask for help.”

There are an estimated 500 Coast Guard personnel stationed near Petaluma and Bodega Bay, said Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll, a spokesman for the Coast Guard’s Eleventh District. The Petaluma Training Center, located in the Two Rock Valley, offers 50 courses to approximately 4,000 Coast Guard students a year, according to the base’s website.

The shutdown has taken a toll on more than just the bank accounts of Coast Guard families, Kroll said.

“The longer this goes on, it weighs down on the emotions of our members,” he said.

The Coast Guard accounts for more than a third of the 1,300 federal workers in Sonoma County. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a bill to provide back pay for some of the 800,000 impacted federal workers after the shutdown ends, though there’s no conclusion in sight.

For Samantha Smith, helping others is a way to cope with the mounting anxiety. This week, her group collected and distributed an estimated $3,000 in gift cards, along with food, diapers and other supplies to 175 local Coast Guard families. Another distribution of goods is set for next week, she said.

The Redwood Empire Food Bank also donated nearly 6,400 pounds of food to 175 families Tuesday, a spokeswoman said. The nonprofit will provide food to the base next week, and could consider bumping deliveries up to twice a week if the shutdown continues, CEO David Goodman said.

“Hunger comes in all shapes and sizes and this is an unusual one, but we are more than happy to help,” he said.

The Chief Petty Officers Association’s Petaluma Chapter has also raised $1,000 for local Coast Guard members who apply for hardship grants, said Nicholas George, the nonprofit’s president. George said calls have been pouring in as the community seeks to help.

“It’s amazing - it goes to show the impact that the Coast Guard has on the local community and the awareness about what the men and women of the Coast Guard represent to the local area,” he said.

Retired Coast Guard commander and Petaluma resident Jennifer Yount is among those who sought to lend a hand. The 59-year-old business owner is expecting to miss her own retirement payment Feb. 1, and enlisted fellow members from the United Church of Christ in Petaluma to help those in need. She’s working with other churches, the local Spouses’ Association and Chief Petty Officers Association to set up donation sites for gift cards and other necessary goods.

While Yount said she’s financially stable, she’s heard from other families struggling to afford gas or medical copays.

“The Coast Guard historically has always done more with less - we usually get whatever is left over and we are very accustomed to that. The idea of doing more with less has almost become a second nature and that’s actually one of the things we have to talk about,” she said. “It’s one thing to do more with less as a military member, but not for your family.”

Petaluma resident Sara Little, whose children attend preschool and transitional kindergarten on campus at Two Rock Union Elementary, this week collected donations from local businesses to create 80 grocery bags complete with stickers, free passes to the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County, and local wine and food for the school’s 76 Coast Guard families. She’s planning a dinner for Coast Guard families, whose children make up the bulk of the school’s student body, she said.

“People do care and the community is certainly thinking of them,” said Little, whose father was a Navy veteran. “They’re not alone. They can rely on us to help.”

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