LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Federal spending cuts are affecting AmeriCorps, one of the nation’s most prominent volunteer organizations. Reports from the Associated Press said the vast majority of staff members are now placed on administrative leave.


What You Need To Know

  • AmeriCorps helps communities across the country and empowers nonprofits to do their work. 

  • A representative for the organization said they're staying hopeful amid potential staffing cuts 

  • AmeriCorps programming has made it possible for the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky to address critical needs 

AmeriCorps has worked to help communities across the country for the last three-plus decades. Holly Dennis, Homes for All AmeriCorps program director, said there is misleading information that the agency is being defunded. 

“We don't want organizations and civically engaged individuals to lose hope AmeriCorps is defunded or whatever words are being thrown out there," Dennis said. "We're still here. Like I've said, we are showing up every day and we're going to continue to show up." 

Dennis said so far, they haven’t seen the program affected by cuts and hope it won’t see any changes for at least the next year.

“Right now, we are not feeling any of the impact," Dennis said. "That's why we're remaining to be optimistic through this. There are many champions of AmeriCorps across the nation, and again, we're just feeling really confident." 

Adrienne Bush, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, said AmeriCorps programming has made it possible to address critical needs throughout the community. 

“It has allowed us to respond to housing needs across the commonwealth, try to address our housing supply shortage, help move people who are experiencing homelessness into housing [and] help prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place,” Bush said.

Bush said efforts to stop nonprofits from their work would mean more than just obstacles to housing. 

“Any disruption, it will end up affecting Kentuckians, meaning disruptions in access to food, access to shelter, access to basic needs and community development," Bush said. 

Dennis said while AmeriCorps still has headquarters staff, there are concerns.

“Things can be a little bit delayed, but we're going to continue to push through," Dennis said. "We're going to continue to serve our communities, and we're going to continue to show up every day." 

Dennis and Bush said they urge people to send a message to their lawmakers about why it's important to continue with AmeriCorps.