The Trump Administration’s sweeping cuts to grant programs that pay for a swathe of social welfare programs are being felt in Long Beach this week at six organizations that lost funding.
These Long Beach programs, ranging from social work to education and health care, collectively receive $9.2 million to pay for 79 positions at sites across the city. But that money, distributed by the AmeriCorps service organization that deploys volunteers to underserved communities and disaster sites, was suddenly yanked off the table when the Trump Administration last month canceled nearly $400 million in grants to AmeriCorps.
The cuts were “an unexpected and shocking loss” at a critical time, according to Interval House, which runs crisis centers and shelters for victims of domestic violence. Its Long Beach location lost 20 AmeriCorps service members.
The loss in funding, the organization said in a statement, accounted for 4% of its budget and will not dramatically hurt the program’s ability to serve people, but several of their AmeriCorps staff members had “lived experience” which made them “incredible role models.”
“And while we want to emphasize that our work will continue, this is absolutely causing us to scramble,” the statement read. “It is creating hardship and struggle that we will overcome—but it is a serious and disruptive blow during an already challenging period.”
A domestic version of the overseas Peace Corps, AmeriCorps workers are typically college students or recent graduates ages 18 to 26 who serve one-year service terms. For a modest living allowance that covers basic expenses, volunteers complete 1,700 hours of service — 35 to 40 hours weekly — in schools, shelters, health clinics, food banks and disaster sites.
In addition to the funding cuts, the Trump Administration placed 85% of AmeriCorps staff on administrative leave, having been told their jobs will formally end in June. Those still working have a little more than 100 days to close out their AmeriCorps programs and return unused funds.
California, along with Alabama, Oregon and Wyoming, lost all of its AmeriCorps funding. Statewide cuts amount to an estimated $60 million pulled from 87 programs that pay for 5,600 positions. More than a fifth of those positions are in Los Angeles County, mostly in education and health care.
A spokesperson with California Volunteers, the state service organization that receives AmeriCorps funding and disburses it to schools, nonprofits and other entities, confirmed earlier this week that six programs in Long Beach have lost funding.
The rollback has since prompted a multi-state lawsuit against the administration. The cancellation, officials warn, hollows out an agency that was meant to improve conditions in poor communities and provide volunteers with second-to-none work experience.
In the 2023-24 service year, AmeriCorps members in California provided more than 4.3 million hours of service, tutoring thousands of students, planting thousands of trees and assisting families displaced by the recent LA fires.
“By abruptly canceling critical grants and gutting AmeriCorps’ workforce and volunteers, DOGE is dismantling AmeriCorps without any concern for the thousands of people who are ready and eager to serve their country — or for those whose communities are stronger because of this public service,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is participating in the lawsuit.
In Long Beach, some programs have already shuttered their AmeriCorps program. Many operators declined to speak with the Long Beach Post, out of fear that their comments could hinder the success of lawsuits filed against the Trump Administration.
The prevailing hope, according to several local administrators, is that funding will be restored.
For instance, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), which sends AmeriCorps fellows to clinics countywide and in Long Beach, suddenly lost $250,000 in federal funds.
This includes money for two education awards — the Segal and the CaliforniaForAll — that award a combined $10,000 to members who finish their full service term, with the idea that it will help pay for further education or housing.
According to Louise McCarthy, President & CEO of CCALAC, these are fellows who enroll low-income patients into Medi-Cal coverage, help schedule trips to the doctor — including transportation — and organize food drives. They also work on specialized projects, such as cancer screening for the homeless, McCarthy said.
“Hopefully someone will see the light and say, ‘Whoa, we didn’t mean to do this,’” McCarthy said.
Until a determination is made, some programs will continue on with temporary funding that will last them a couple months.
“We decided we weren’t going to let them go,” McCarthy said, mentioning one fellow named Raul. “This is his only job. He doesn’t have another source of income, and he needs to pay rent. And the health center needs him to do the work.”
For Dr. Elisa Nicholas at TCC Health, who works with AmeriCorps fellows in Long Beach, these cuts will come at the long-term consequence of losing a generation of young doctors and nurses with the work experience to enter the field and be effective.
Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said the decision to gut AmeriCorps came after failed audits in recent years, with millions in improper payments identified last year alone. She added the president “has the legal right to restore accountability to the entire Executive Branch.”
“I think there probably are some inefficiencies in the administration of programs, I’ve been saying that for a long time,” Nicholas said. “But I think a more measured approach would be what I would have preferred. … I think a complete cutting of the whole program makes me a little sad.”