Groups across Maine are reeling this week after the Trump administration sent out notices of sweeping, nationwide cuts to the AmeriCorps program.
Volunteer Maine, which oversees Maine's state-level AmeriCorps programs, said it received notice on Friday terminating all of its roughly 120 positions, which are spread across multiple groups.
Executive director Brit Gleixner-Haya said the cuts could hit hardest in rural towns, where she said AmeriCorps members fill crucial gaps working on chronic disease prevention, workforce development, and other issues.
"Maine communities are losing out. The members themselves, who have committed to public service, are losing out. So it's going to have a lot of impact on Maine," Gleixner-Hayat said.
She said the terminations in Maine are part of national cuts affecting state programs across the country.
Earlier this month, the administration placed 85% of AmeriCorps' administrative staff on leave, according to the Associated Press.
Amanda Beal, commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry, said in a statement the cuts have halted two of the agency's programs: the Ending Hunger Corps and the Maine Conservation Corps.
"This sudden disruption halts critical work in Maine communities that support our food systems, natural resource stewardship, and recreational infrastructure," Beal said. "The loss of AmeriCorps funding is not just a budgetary challenge, it’s a blow to community resilience, youth opportunity, and the public good.”
The Greater Portland Council of Government is among the groups in Maine scrambling for alternative funding after learning on Sunday that its twelve AmeriCorps positions had been terminated, effective immediately.
Executive director Kristina Egan said her group is using funding reserves to employ the AmeriCorps members through June, but is looking to Maine's elected leaders to help reserve the cuts.
"Our real hope is that the federal delegation will be able to work with DOGE and the Trump administration to reinstate these grants," she said, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency. "When we talk about government efficiency, this is the perfect example of having a very low cost but highly talented staff person do something that helps the community in the long term."
Ellie Hughes is one of GPCOG's AmeriCorps fellows. She's been helping the town of Chebeague Island pursue wildfire mitigation and energy projects.
Hughes, who moved to Maine in January for the job, said she isn't sure what she'll do if funding for her position isn't restored by June.
"I definitely have no safety net in Maine, so I hope that we find a way for this work to continue, and otherwise I don't know," she said, adding that she worries about what the impact would be on small communities like Chebeague Island that host AmeriCorps workers.
"There are only three full time staff members in the town office," she said. "So I've been able to pursue projects that the town would not be able to consider without that extra staffing."
Maine joined a multistate lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the administration from dismantling AmeriCorps.
