Devastating Impact of Federal Cuts on AmeriCorps Programs

Governor Kathy Hochul today shared a breakdown of how the Trump administration’s cuts to the AmeriCorps programs will end several critical services that New Yorkers rely on, including disaster preparedness resources, educational support for students, and environmental stewardship efforts. The Governor announced that New York State and a coalition of 23 other states and Washington D.C. are pushing back against the cuts by filing a lawsuit challenging the federal government for this unlawful and unconstitutional action.

“From providing vital public health services in New York City, to helping kids read in the Southern Tier, AmeriCorps is a representation of true public service. Our AmeriCorps workers give so much back to their communities — their compassionate and valiant work does not go unrecognized,” Governor Hochul said. “I’m proud to join this suit as we fight back against these egregious cuts to programs that thousands of New Yorkers rely on.”

On April 25, our New York State Commission on National and Community Service was notified by the AmeriCorps agency of the immediate termination of close to $30 million in grants to the state. With this action, the federal government has terminated the positions of more than 1,200 AmeriCorps members - hardworking New Yorkers who will lose their livable stipends. With these cuts, thousands of New Yorkers will lose access to vital, community based resources across the state. This funding goes to AmeriCorps programs that directly support more than 70,000 New Yorkers in more than 40 programs across the state. These programs assist students, deliver meals to seniors, assist veterans, respond to disasters and much more. The affected programs and the services they provide New Yorkers include:

• New York State Conservation Corps, Environmental Education and Public Land Improvements: More than 60 positions supported by AmeriCorps funding across New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation help fund staff that are primarily youth leaders seeking experience that will propel them to pursue conservation careers. The positions provide public education and after- and in-school programs for hundreds of elementary students across the state, build and maintain trails and address invasive species in the Adirondacks and public lands statewide, serve as trailhead ambassadors, remove hazard trees, and repair backcountry bridges, among other environmental stewardship initiatives.
• The American Red Cross Disaster Resiliency Corps: Statewide NYS — Provides disaster resiliency by educating individuals on the importance of disaster preparedness and fire safety and developing supply, storage, distribution, shelter, and other logistics planning for effective and rapid emergency responses in all New York State regions.
• Community Healthcare Association of New York State: Statewide NYS — The Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS) AmeriCorps members provide health education and care management services in Community Health Centers in multiple regions of New York State, including New York, Long Island, the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Capital Region, Western New York, the Finger Lakes, and Central New York.
• Civic Corps: New York City — AmeriCorps members build capacity and volunteer management systems, increasing the effectiveness and efficiency at high need community-based organizations.
• Rochester AmeriCorps (Monroe Community College): Rochester, NY — Monroe Community College’s Rochester AmeriCorps program provides academic enrichment, college preparation, and summer programming support to Rochester City School District students.
• The Wild Center: Tupper Lake, NY — AmeriCorps members engage and educate students, family and community members at The Wild Center and the Tupper Lake School District. Members will create STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) activities utilizing whole campus resources such as exhibits, live animals, outdoor classrooms, art installations, films and technology.
• Empire State Service Corps: Statewide NYS — Participating SUNY students engage in public service work throughout New York State. Corps members provide service on their respective campuses or out in the community in an array of areas: K-12 tutoring, SNAP and basic need outreach, peer mental health, sustainability and climate action, anti-hate and bias prevention, civic engagement, and FAFSA completion.
• The Service Collaborative of Western New York: Buffalo, NY — ABLE AmeriCorps members serve with The Service Collaborative of Western New York to implement evidence-informed math interventions with small groups of 3-6-year-olds and to combat summer learning loss in Erie and Niagara counties.

New York State Commission on National and Community Service Chair Michael S. Cashman said, “This isn’t just the end of a program, it's the silencing of a national promise. Across every corner of New York, AmeriCorps has been a quiet force for good mentoring children, supporting veterans, feeding families, rebuilding after disasters, and strengthening the civic fabric that holds our communities together. Its elimination is a blow not just to a program, but to the belief that service strengthens democracy and brings out the best in us. But to every member, alum, and staff who have served New York and beyond: your service has not been lost, it lives on in the lives you’ve touched and the communities you’ve transformed. That legacy endures. And so will the call to serve.”