AmeriCorps in Danger
FEMA Corps shut down by DOGE, many loose their Jobs
Hello Readers,
On April 15, 2025, AmeriCorps FEMA Corps members were suddenly told it was their last day and they had to return to campus. This is part of the ongoing attack by Elon Musk’s DOGE to dismantle federal programs and services that benefit people across the country.
In 1965, the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program (which would later become AmeriCorps VISTA under the AmeriCorps umbrella of programs in 1993) was created to combat poverty in the US. Then in 1992, AmeriCorps launched the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), a program for young adults ages 18-24 (later raised to age 26 in 2020) to serve their country and become good citizens. The NCCC program was based off the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s as its spiritual successor. Then, in 2012 with the growing needs in disaster affected communities and with the success of the NCCC program, a newprogram was created as a branch of NCCC, FEMA Corps.
FEMA Corps primarily focused on assisting disaster affected areas, gaining skills to obtain federal employment, and strengthen the nation’s capacity to respond to disasters. FEMA Corps members serve communities during the worst day of their lives. FEMA Corps members dedicate at least 10 months of their lives to serving communities. Now the program is no longer active, with no clear intentions of bringing the program back. Scores of staff have been placed on administrative leave or were fired in a RIF which gives no reassurance of bringing the program eventually back. AmeriCorps NCCC members were told they would be on administrative leave until April 30th, but there are no details on what the future of the program is and if it will even remain in existence. Multiple Reddit posts have stated that AmeriCorps as a whole was being shut down completely.
The lack of clear, transparent, and official communication from AmeriCorps regarding the future of the program and members has lead to many concerns, both for members in the program and for communities across the country. Within the program, there are questions about what is going to happen to the educational benefits, which AmeriCorps oversees. This will also cause further economic downturn if members are unable to access the benefits of a college education which the program makes more accessible with the Segal Education Award. This is concerning for both current members, who were sent home without warning and for alumni who served, especially if they still hold educational funds granted through the National Service Trust.
The program can be life-changing to its members in providing leadership, employment, and educational opportunities. FEMA Corps is a prime track for young adults to get into emergency management careers who may be lacking experience. In the 2023 impact report, Evidence of AmeriCorps Strengthing Communities conducted by JBS International,, that AmeriCorps NCCC members provided great initative and showed leadership qualities. The loss of the program will have significant impacts. One of them will be the loss of the talent pipeline into emergency management jobs in both the private and public sector.
Our nation’s already strained ability to provide staff for disaster response and recovery efforts will face an even greater shortage as disasters continue to increase in frequency and severity. The report also stated that in its research one stakeholder that was interviewed for the study that having AmeriCorps NCCC program members involved was very helpful. In the 2023 impact report, it was found that “Community stakeholders” (from in-depth case studies) described their perception of AmeriCorps members as “fearless” workers, who never hesitated to do the “dirty work,” and “kept things moving along.” The study also found that AmeriCorps NCCC members after the program were more likely to have civic engagement and demonstrated stronger leadership qualities.
Without these programs, young adults will no longer have FEMA Corps as an option to gain real world skills for growth and employment. In an impact report from 2024, it was found that for every dollar spent in the program, in return gave back to the e alconomymost $8 due to the improved educational and employment outcomes. The nature of living and working together on a team improved members’ interpersonal skills and allowed them to better work in team environments.AmeriCorps gave a way for people in poverty to get out of poverty.
According to the most recent deployment reports published by AmeriCorps, FEMA Corps members were serving in projects including Hurricane Helene recovery, Los Angeles wildfire recovery, a mass care project for the American Red Cross, and many other related projects related to emergency management and disasters. Those communities will now no longer have the additional support from those members. Corps members are paid less than $18 a day, frequently working 12-hour days on disasters, yet give so much to these communities and the broader emergency management community.
AmeriCorps NCCC provides support both to the communities and to its members in ways that are irreplaceable. FEMA Corps provides extensive support in response, recovery, and disaster prevention. Through its other programs, NCCC provides hands-on support for recovery efforts. For example, the Traditional arm of the program works to rebuild homes with Habitat for Humanity. FEMA Corps members perform critical functions in disasters including signing people up for assistance, providing supply distribution support, and conducting site inspections. In addition to their assigned project work, they also volunteer in addition to their regular service hours. From trash clean-ups, to working at food banks, to planting trees in public lands, AmeriCorps members are always working to make a difference during their service term. Its staff and members work tirelessly to serve their community. We shouldn’t let them down.
📢 What You Can Do
✅ Contact your members of Congress and ask them to investigate DOGE’s actions
✅ Share your service story on social media using #SaveAmeriCorps
✅ Support displaced corps members with job leads, mental health resources, or financial aid
✅ Stay informed by subscribing to ALT-FEMA and amplifying advocacy efforts
Stay tuned for updates. We will not back down.
— ALT-FEMA Editorial Team
My daughter was in FEMACorps and not only was it probably the hardest she has ever worked for littlest amount of money, it was life changing for her serving the people in our country, many who had lost almost everything in a disaster, and it was the reason she has been so successful and committed to FEMA the last 9 years. What a tragedy for our country in so many ways.
These people have no idea what true service is, and they are deranged in thinking that in any way this is a waste of resources.
Maybe when there is no one left to help people after a disaster and we have cites and regions abandoned because there will be no one to rebuild them will they realize what a huge mistake this is, but unfortunately it will be too late. I think this is about eliminating FEMA all together, starting with the pathways that were created to provide on the ground training and experience to young people who might want to work there. Now that we are having more and more disasters each year…how will we possibly recover? How does this make any sense?
Heartbreaking to see such an influential job training program get cut. I learned so much from my year of service