AmeriCorps cuts affect programs across Missouri and Illinois
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) -Tuesday marked 100 days since President Trump took office. In that time, his istration has made several cuts, including to AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps sends money and people to serve in communities across the country. Some corps are placed with the Healing Action Network in St. Louis, an organization that helps human trafficking survivors in Missouri.
Katie Rhoades, Founder and Co-Executive Director, tells First Alert 4, “We heard at 7:14 p.m. on a Friday night that our AmeriCorps funding has been terminated, so we lost three federal grants before our original end date, which has amounted to about a $250,000 loss to the organization.”
Rhoades says the organization is losing the equivalent of over 22,000 hours of service. Healing Action Network is now stopping victim intake and reducing staff.
“The cuts don’t seem to have any sort of logical rhyme or reason,” says Rhoades.
Two dozen states, including Illinois, ed a lawsuit challenging the Trump istration’s cuts to AmeriCorps. The federal lawsuit alleges the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting efforts went back on grants budgeted in congressionally approved funding this year.
According to the complaint, at least 85% of AmeriCorps staff were put on leave this month. Some were notified last week they would be let go. In Missouri, 200 were terminated. As for Illinois, the cuts affected 632 workers or volunteers.
The White House points to improper payments reported by AmeriCorps, totaling over $40 million dollars in 2024.
Rhoades says she hopes the Trump istration realizes the impact AmeriCorps has on organizations serving some of our most vulnerable.
She tells First Alert 4, “If we are going to cut inefficiencies, if we are going to look at programs differently, then there needs to be a plan to do that so that the most vulnerable citizens in our community, which we see as human trafficking victims are not impacted.”
Samantha Ferguson Knight, Vice-Chair ServMO, also provided First Alert 4 the following statement:
As a Governor-appointed Commissioner of The Missouri Community Service Commission (ServMO), I am deeply concerned by the sudden termination of $400M in grants including just over $4M in Missouri. Late Friday evening, I was heartbroken to learn that 200 AmeriCorps were terminated across the state, including between 40-50 in St.Louis. Across the country, about 80% of all AmeriCorps, VISTA, and AmeriCorps Seniors programs were closed without notice.
As Vice-Chair of ServMO, I am devastated by what these grant terminations will mean for the that are being forced to exit their programs prematurely. These will be left suddenly without a living stipend and other benefits, such as healthcare. Many will be facing housing, food, health, and other financial emergencies as a result of losing their living stipends, which are likely their only source of income. These great public servants live on less than minimum wage with the promise of an education award and the understanding that they are making a real, tangible difference in our communities. I am also concerned about what this means for the programming the terminated will leave behind with many serving in schools as tutors and training as teachers; providing quality care in afterschool programs; coordinating food distribution at pantries; helping women navigate breast cancer diagnosis; and acting as advocates through the public defender’s office.
With so much uncertainty, it is difficult to imagine how existing programs will continue to recruit and calm the fears of their . At the federal level, the agency has faced many challenges in recent years, but studies continue to show a high ROI ($34 for every federal dollar spent). I am grateful to the bipartisan champions who know firsthand the difference these volunteers make in our communities, and I urge those who see this issue as an easy cut to think about the quiet, but immense impact of AmeriCorps . These 200 volunteers are our neighbors, our lifelines, and our future leaders.
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