This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.
Soon after floodwaters inundated Montpelier in July 2023, the city tasked its Parks and Trees Department with running a central hub for flood response. That meant Marek Zajac, an AmeriCorps member serving with the department, spent long hours under a tent in the capitol鈥檚 downtown. The now 32-year-old kept track of which neighbors needed their homes mucked and gutted 鈥� and dispatched available volunteers.
With City Hall flooded, 鈥渢here was nowhere to go to interact with the city 鈥� except for us,鈥� Zajac said. 鈥淲e became both an emotional support鈥nd a way to find help.鈥�
Now, Zajac鈥檚 job 鈥� which involves managing street trees and a community farm when the city isn鈥檛 experiencing a disaster 鈥� is on pause. That鈥檚 due to the latest round of federal cuts to the independent government agency that funds the service position they have held for nearly three years.
Last week, AmeriCorps began terminating across the country that funded thousands of jobs like Zajac鈥檚, including about $2.4 million in funding for service positions in Vermont.
An April 25 grant termination letter sent to Philip Kolling, the executive director of SerVermont 鈥� which oversees the bulk of the state鈥檚 AmeriCorps members 鈥� said the state鈥檚 grant 鈥渘o longer effectuates agency priorities鈥� and demanded that recipients 鈥渋mmediately cease all award activities.鈥�
The $2.4 million in terminated Vermont grants funded positions that focused on 鈥渆verything from housing placement services, food security, to job training, to after school programming 鈥� and then, importantly, these days, flood recovery,鈥� Kolling said. The grants flow through five state entities, including the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, and the state鈥檚 Department of Environmental Conservation.
The terminations impact about 200 AmeriCorps positions, Kolling said. About 70 are currently filled, with many slated to begin this spring and summer, he said. Some are government positions, like Zajac鈥檚, and many others are at nonprofits.
Several days after that notice arrived, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Trump administration鈥檚 termination of AmeriCorps grants and positions. The suit, filed on April 29, argues that the administration鈥檚 efforts to gut the congressionally-created agency violate the separation of powers enshrined by the U.S. Constitution.
鈥淚鈥檓 suing to stop the Trump Administration from dismantling AmeriCorps 鈥� which the executive branch lacks the authority to do 鈥攁nd prevent the further degradation of Vermont鈥檚 workforce and housing,鈥� Clark said in a statement on Tuesday.
The funding cuts constitute about 40% of the roughly $6 million Vermont receives annually for AmeriCorps programs, Kolling said. Positions that focus on anti-poverty initiatives and programming for seniors are not impacted by the terminations, he added.
A separate AmeriCorps program, focused on affordable housing and disaster recovery, , ending their service terms early and sending them home. SerVermont does not oversee that program.
The corps members under the SerVermont umbrella have not been officially let go.
鈥淣one have been exited from service yet,鈥� Kolling said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e assessing the impacts, and in the meantime, they鈥檙e on pause.鈥�
AmeriCorps members receive a modest living stipend while they serve. Zajac relies on food stamps and a federally-funded phone program to get by, they said. While they wait to return to work, they鈥檙e worried about being able to make rent.
鈥淎lready, housing can feel impossible to figure out, especially for someone without much means,鈥� they said. 鈥淭he commitments that I鈥檓 in in terms of a lease agreement鈥 don鈥檛 know how I鈥檓 going to be able to meet without being able to count on that regular living stipend.鈥�
For Jill DeVito, 51, who serves at the Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center in West Brattleboro, the main concern is maintaining health insurance if her teaching position disappears.
鈥淓ach of us has our own personal lives upended in different ways,鈥� she said.
Erin Riley, the AmeriCorps program director for the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board, said the pause in service will have an immediate impact on the daily operations of the organizations where members work. But the federal cuts are also emotionally devastating for the dozens of Vermont AmeriCorps members, many of whom have relocated here and have dedicated themselves to giving back to their host communities.
鈥淭o have that ripped away, I think, is just heartbreaking and, honestly, infuriating,鈥� Riley said.
