A federal judge has granted NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson a temporary injunction after he sued AmeriCorps for cutting programs that were aiding Western North Carolina in recovering from the storm.
This spring, dozens of young volunteers were stationed in Western North Carolina helping communities recover from Hurricane Helene. They organized food donations, cleared homes of debris and repaired trails and nature preserves.
That work – done by AmeriCorps members – was cut short after the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency found the work “no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
Jackson was joined by 23 other attorneys general from across the country. Last week, a federal judge in Maryland found that cutting the programs violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The act states that Congress requires the government provide advance notice and an opportunity for public comment on any major changes to AmeriCorps services.
The programs are restored for now, but getting volunteers back for the next term – which starts in September – will be a challenge, said Julianne Johnson, Assistant Director for Operations for Conserving Carolina.
The environmental advocacy group operates Project Conserve, an environmental stewardship project which uses AmeriCorps members to educate students, restore natural habitats and remove invasive species. Johnson is an alumni of the project.
“We would typically… be well into the recruitment process for AmeriCorps members who would start their new 11-month terms with us starting September 1,” Johnson said, noting the uncertainty surrounding their funding from Congress. “We are on pause until we know more about if we will have funding for the next year.”
The other issue will be retaining all of the volunteers who were forced to leave Western North Carolina after the cuts in April.
Some have gotten other jobs or moved on to other opportunities.
“ I don't anticipate that the full corps of Project Conserve will be back at it,” she said.
Cuts affected dozens of volunteers
After DOGE – which aimed to cut government waste and fraud – announced the end of programs on April 15, AmeriCorps ordered more than 50 full-time volunteers to stop working on Helene recovery in Western North Carolina.
Ten days later, AmeriCorps told state officials that they would immediately stop funding 10 volunteer organizations funded through the NC Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service.
Days later, Attorney General Jackson joined 23 other attorneys general and sued AmeriCorps for not administering grants that Congress had already appropriated.
“Western North Carolina will get the funds it needs so AmeriCorps members can keep helping people, keep cleaning up after Helene, and rebuild their homes and neighborhoods,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “The people in western North Carolina can keep rebuilding while I keep fighting this case.”
Programs in North Carolina to which funding will now resume include:
- Project MARS (Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC): Employs 45 people who served 18 Western North Carolina counties after Hurricane Helene by delivering supplies and meals to homebound and stranded families, distributing food and clothing, assisting shelters and crisis hotlines, and supporting schools as they reopened.
- Project Conserve: Employs 25 people who partnered with local organizations in 25 Western North Carolina counties after Hurricane Helene to perform debris removal, tree replanting, storm-system repairs and rain-barrel distribution.
- Project POWER: Employs 14 people who assisted more than 10,500 people affected by disasters in Buncombe, Henderson, and Madison counties by coordinating large-scale food donations, setting up distribution sites, conducting wellness checks and managing cleanup efforts.
- A variety of programs that provide literacy services, community gardens, support for future teachers in rural communities, mental health support for students, and food and grocery distribution.
