Americorps, the Clinton/Gore Era National Service Program, was envisioned as a domestic version of the international Peace Corps to help vulnerable populations in the United States.
When I had my charter school, we required students to participate in service learning projects around the community. Some of the projects dealt with cleaning up elderly people’s homes, cleaning up streets, or providing tutoring for elementary age students who attended a school for homeless children.
Several of my students earned scholarships through Learn and Serve at Americorps to partially pay for their college tuition.
More importantly, they learned about society’s ills and the value of service to the community.
According to the Americorps.gov site, 4800 Arizonans are “preparing today’s students for tomorrow’s jobs, connecting veterans to services, fighting the opioid epidemic, helping older adults age with dignity, rebuilding communities after disasters, and improving the physical and mental well-being of Americans nationwide.”
They are currently working at 500 locations in the Grand Canyon state, “including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers, veterans facilities, and other nonprofit and faith-based organizations.”
Since it was designed to help people on the public dollar, reactionary Republicans have always had the program in their crosshairs to eliminate.
Therefore, it should not be a surprise that the Musk/Trump/Vance Central Committee has earmarked Americorps for program termination, cancelling present and future grants while reducing 85 percent of the staff.
Recognizing the positive impact of Americorps and Service Learning on America and Arizona’s most vulnerable at the local, state, and national communities, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and 23 of her colleagues in other states, plus Washington D.C., announced a lawsuit to block the Musk/Trump/Vance termination of Americorps, asserting that the Administrations move was Unconstitutional by violating the Separation of Powers and the Administrative Procedures Act.
In an office press release, Attorney General Mayes wrote:
“AmeriCorps represents the best of our nation – providing opportunities for millions of Americans to serve their neighbors and communities and make our country a better place to live. By unilaterally gutting this Congressionally authorized agency, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have yet again violated the law and the separation of powers under the U.S. Constitution. Their illegal actions will harm Arizona communities.”
“Studies show that AmeriCorps programs generate as much as $34.26 return on investment for every dollar spent. Slashing these programs serves no purpose and is incredibly short-sighted from those claiming to champion efficiency.”
The Attorney General’s office also cited three examples of the positive far far-reaching effects of Americorps’ mission, including:
- Northern Arizona University, Arizona Teacher’s Residency: $700,000
- Strengthening Arizona’s teacher pipeline to address teacher shortages.
- Area Agency on Aging, Caring Circles: $308,000
- Providing social support to older Arizonans, such as transportation to medical appointments, grocery shopping, and help with technology.
- Vista College Preparatory, Tutoring and Teacher Support: $495,000
- Providing targeted tutoring in math and reading for low-income students.
This is another example of the senseless cruelty of the Musk/Trump/Vance regime.
These federal funds should be left to provide this proven and effective National Service Program that helps the states and nations’ most vulnerable, rather than going toward tax cuts for billionaires that do not need it.
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