NY programs from youth literacy to food support face closure with AmeriCorps funds yanked away

Youth assistance groups, literacy programs, mental health services and other volunteer-driven organizations throughout New York are facing the prospect of closing shop — in some cases, instantly — as the Trump administration guts the long-standing AmeriCorps service network.

New York City groups providing food pantries, early education and literacy tutoring told Gothamist they learned Friday their grants were being cut immediately — part of what the nonprofit America Service Commissions described as the administration “illegally and immediately terminating nearly $400 million” in grants nationwide. The nonprofit represents the commissions that provide organizations the grant funds in each state.

According to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who joined a coalition of 25 states suing the administration over the cuts, affected programs include ones providing community health education, disaster preparedness, community health and counseling to help New Yorkers access public benefits. She said the Trump administration cut more than $30 million from New York programs, leaving 1,200 AmeriCorps members without income and benefits in the state.

“It's devastating,” said Robert Cordero, CEO of Grand Street Settlement, a social services organization serving about 17,500 people at 40 sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx and the Lower East Side. The group provides early childhood education, youth programs and safety net services like food pantries. “You've got people from the community serving the community who are going to lose.”

A letter from the New York State Commission on National and Community Service informed Grand Street recently that all of the commission’s AmeriCorps State and National grants were being terminated immediately based on a determination that “the award no longer effectuates agency properties.”

The letter said the commission “vigorously” disagrees with the determination and was trying to figure out next steps, but told grant awardees to stop incurring expenses immediately. “New York state will not be able to reimburse you for future expenses unless they were incurred prior to this notice,” the letter said.

Cordero said Grand Street relies on AmeriCorps funding to pay its volunteers. He said the organization has received funding since the 1990s.

This year, until receiving a message stating their AmeriCorps funding was cut, the group had $400,000 for the year to budget for volunteers — but that went to $0 instantly, and Cordero expects it won’t re-up next year.

“ I don't want to unwind the program that we've built up over decades from one day to the next,” Cordero said. “The intent here is to kind of break things, to break people, to break our spirit, and we're not going to allow that to happen. … Our mission is to help foster New Yorkers into the American dream and into opportunity. If that means having to fundraise and figure out other ways to do this work, we're going to continue to do it.”

Cordero said Grand Street will be able to pay volunteers with other funding until July, but after that it can’t fund the salaries, stipends and even college scholarships AmeriCorps funding allowed for beyond that point, into the next fiscal year.

Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation runs a neighborhood literacy program in 12 elementary, junior and high schools in East New York with its AmeriCorps grant. The program has been running for 22 years, and received $268,000 this past fiscal year.

After the notice, its balance also went to $0, and isn’t expected to return next year, Executive Director Michelle Neugebauer said.

“ The kids in the after-school program get really excited about reading, getting their library cards, drag their parents to the library — so it's been a labor of love,” Neugebauer told Gothamist. “And now we got a 24-hour notice to stop the program.”

The grants covered stipends for about 30 peer tutors in six public schools, Neugebauer said. These peer tutors taught about 900 kids each year, which means a significant amount of grassroots teaching initiatives won’t return, she said.

“We've had AmeriCorps members who have used their educational stipends, finished their degrees in college, whether it's in youth development or education, and now are running our after-school programs,” Neugebauer said. “It really gets young adults hooked on service. It's devastating for us.”

Last year brought $50.6 million in federal funding to dozens of volunteer projects in the state, from mental health services to affordable housing initiatives. Awards can range from a few thousand to several million dollars.

The cuts to local groups’ grant programs come weeks after AmeriCorps placed most of its staff on administrative leave, and dismissed its National Civilian Community Corps members earlier this month.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, also part of the coalition suing the Trump administration, said his state lost $6 million in funding this month.

He said affected New Jersey programs provide addiction recovery support, English language tutoring, mentoring for children with special needs, environmental efforts in urban areas and disaster relief.