Volunteers between the ages of 18 to 26 were involved in service projects across multiple states. They worked alongside non-profits in communities as well as with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to provide disaster relief.
Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs says volunteers at the city’s Southern Region campus of AmeriCorps were an asset.
“They painted,” he said. “They did some curbing, when you start talking about numbers on the streets. They did cleaning, they did some of everything.”
Flaggs said he would usually meet with the volunteers at the beginning of their programs to welcome them to Vicksburg.
“We’re a small city,” he said. “Because of that, they’re vital. We've been able to work with them, we've got a great relationship with them. They’re in our city, they are an economic engine to our city because of the fact they buy grocery, they shop in and do a lot of things here.”
In exchange for volunteer’s working full time, the AmeriCorps agency provides each person of the program with basic living expenses, including housing, meals and a modest living allowance. Volunteers also received up to $7300 towards future education expenses or qualified federal student loans.
Flaggs says he hopes the program will be reinstated.
“I think they're vital to our community and to the communities across the country,” he said. “I think they save a lot of money, they work hard and they're good. That's the thing that I like about them. They're very proficient.”
Mississippi’s second district Congressman, Bennie Thompson, says he was disturbed to hear about the dismantling of Americorps.
“This is called kind of the domestic Peace Corps,” he said. “We send people all over the world with the Peace Corps, but with AmeriCorps, that name kind of says we do good work here. In Edwards, Mississippi, we refurbished a community center, but we've done housing programs. We've done a lot of good programs.”
Thompson says the program was supposed to be funded through September.
“So clearly, it's Donald Trump being Donald Trump and somehow, putting retribution on a program that's designed to lift people off the bottom,” he said.
Marsha Meeks Kelly is the founder of the Mississippi State Office of Volunteerism, which helped to coordinate AmeriCorps program across the state.
“Truthfully, I can't imagine why this program was ended,” she said. “They had a clean audit. These young people were working hard.”
Meeks Kelly says she believes the program allowed young people to become stronger individuals and establish purpose.
“It's the very thing this country would want,” she said. “This is what has been created and people are proud of their AmeriCorps service. Mississippi never had a problem with recruiting AmeriCorps members. It was a modest stipend, but we had so many we had so many people who wanted to serve.”
Congress reconvened Monday but it is unclear if the program will be reinstated.
