NC Housing Coalition joins nationwide challenge to AmeriCorps funding cuts
The North Carolina Housing Coalition has joined a nationwide group of community organizations, individuals and unions in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's move to dismantle AmeriCorps, the nation's flagship civil service program.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on Monday. It seeks to block the administration's attempt to dismantle the program without congressional authorization.
'Our action is after receiving notice of the termination of our grant award and coming to the conclusion that it was incredibly important for us as a statewide coalition, as an organization who throughout our history, has kept in mind where the gaps are and how we can step into those gaps to serve communities across North Carolina,' said Samuel Gunter, the housing coalition's executive director.
The Housing Coalition received termination letters late last month for two AmeriCorps VISTA members it had assigned to local housing counseling agencies across the state. The nonprofit estimates that 351 AmeriCorps members at 13 sites across the state were also terminated. Nationally, just under $400 million in AmeriCorps grants were cancelled, ending the services of more than 32,000 members, it reported.
According to AmeriCorps, last year, more than 3,300 AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers and other participants worked to 'meet local needs, strengthen communities, and expand opportunity through national service in North Carolina.' AmeriCorps invested more than $27 million in federal funding into the state, the organization said.
AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers served at more than 700 locations across North Carolina, including schools, food banks, homeless shelters, health clinics, youth centers, veterans' facilities, and other nonprofit and faith-based organizations, AmeriCorps said.
Gunter, a Peace Corps and VISTA alumnus, said the service programs are transformative for communities and individuals who serve.
'We felt it was important to step up into that gap, not just on AmeriCorps but as we are seeing this trend for a number of federal resources,' Gunter said.
The lawsuit against the Trump administration was brought by community organizations from across the nation, individual youth plaintiffs who participate in AmeriCorps and the AmeriCorps Employees Union, AFSCME Local 2027.
It alleges that the Trump administration does not have unilateral power to cut or end the AmeriCorps grants and service programs, and that doing so would unlawfully deprive communities of critical services and opportunities provided through AmeriCorps, including education access, housing support, and youth mentorship.
'We are filing this lawsuit today to stand up to this illegal assault on the essential work we do,' Kelly Daly, AmeriCorps Employees Union AFSCME Local 2027 president, said in a news release. 'From providing mentors and educational support to students to rebuilding communities after disasters, AmeriCorps participants and other AmeriCorps grantees' programs form the backbone of public service, and our union members are proud to make that service possible.'
As a result of the Trump administration's actions, Daly said families will 'go without homes. Kids will lose aftercare programming. Seniors will lose companion care, and our communities will suffer.'
Over the last 30 years, the complaint explained, AmeriCorps has served hundreds of communities in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
'It has conserved lands for use by farmers, hunters, and hikers, provided after-school care to help students from all backgrounds succeed in school, and afforded medical care to seniors and others who might otherwise not have had treatment. All of this progress now hangs in the balance as Defendants work to dismantle the Agency,' the lawsuit said.
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, called the Trump administration's gutting of AmeriCorps 'unlawful and haphazard.'
'In their latest attempt to undermine the public service values that are core to our democracy, the Trump administration has gutted Americorps, which has a proven track record of supporting and improving communities across our nation — more than we can say about the policies of this administration,' Perryman said.
The Housing Coalition also took note of the recent demobilization of AmeriCorps' National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) — a development that Gov. Josh Stein decried last month, which resulted in the loss of 52 NCCC members assisting with post-Helene cleanup.
On April 23, Stein shared his frustration with the move in a post on X, writing: 'Since Hurricane Helene hit, Americorps NCCC teams have been on the ground in western NC delivering resources to victims, repairing homes, and leading volunteer efforts. The federal government is making a mistake taking them off the job. The people of NC need them to complete their mission.'
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