by George Woods
In the afternoon of April 28th, 2025, dozens of AmeriCorps VISTA Members serving the University of Mississippi and surrounding communities were informed that their projects are to be discontinued immediately by the orders of DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency). This government organization, developed by Donald Trump and Elon Musk in January 2025, terminated active grants on April 25, distributing letters to project leaders stating that their work “no longer effectuates agency priorities”— utilizing a generic template to inform the elimination of projects disapproved by the agency.
The precursor to modern AmeriCorps, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) was founded in 1965 with the initiative of relieving and preventing poverty in the United States. VISTA was incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993, with other branches including AmeriCorps State and National, AmeriCorps Seniors, and AmeriCorps NCCC. In early April, DOGE entered AmeriCorps headquarters to evaluate whether these projects were deemed an appropriate use of federal funds. On April 15, members of AmeriCorps NCCC, an organization engaging young adults in community service initiatives such as disaster preparedness and environmental conservation were informed of the abrupt termination of their projects. At that time, approximately 75 percent of full-time AmeriCorps employees were also placed on administrative leave.
Since 2010, the Grisham-McLean Institute for the Public Service and Community Engagement in the University of Mississippi has organized poverty-alleviation initiatives under the North Mississippi VISTA Project. Local services previously facilitated by this organization included assistance for homeless families, distributing farmers market vouchers to those in need, professional development workshops for community members, and preventative care and self-management guidance for those with chronic diseases.
The future of the organizations that relied upon their full-time VISTA Members to function effectively remains unclear. Former members are forbidden from returning to their sites to facilitate any transfer of duties. As volunteers were only previously paid a living allowance “based on poverty rates for a single individual in the geographic area” where they serve, many former volunteers now find themselves experiencing the financial challenges of the community members that they previously aided. Affected members are not eligible for unemployment benefits due to their status as volunteers, not formal employees. As their service is terminated, members who selected an education award as their service benefit will also not receive the full amount they anticipated to pay for future schooling or prior student loans.
Some VISTA projects across the United States are permitted to tentatively continue, although there is no formal statement by DOGE rationalizing the selection process. Calculated return on investment does not seem to be a factor, as official reports demonstrated consistent gains across areas served. AmeriCorps was one of the multitude of public service organizations dismantled in order to pursue the stated goal of eliminating wasteful spending. The next directions of DOGE are uncertain.
