Trump has emptied the American National Service Agency: NPR

Until last month, Theo Faucher, 25, was an American team leader. He and 10 others have obtained a small allowance to build affordable houses in Virginia, remove the hurricane debris in Florida and repair the park trails in Virginia-Western. It was there that they were, in the middle of New River Gorge National Park, when the pattern of Faucher called with shocking news.

“It was mainly, withdraw your team from the site, pack your camp, take the road this evening, if possible,” he recalls.

The Trump administration had completed nearly $ 400 million In Americanorps, a large part of the budget of around $ 1 billion from the agency. An opinion on April 25 said that subsidies no longer corresponded to American priorities, but did not offer any details on the reasons.

Some 32,000 people across the country – mainly young adults but also senior volunteers – had to immediately stop their work in areas such as resumption after loss, education, environmental management and public health.

The Trump administration also dismissed most of the American staff last month. The combined cuts have emptied a federal agency created three decades ago for people to serve their country.

“I feel a little devastated,” said Brandon Fernandez, who is 21 years old and helped cover the disaster after Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. He hoped that the mission could lead to a job with FEMA.

When his group was informed that they were dissolved, he said that he and others had trouble retaining tears. “My bosses did not know this at all,” said Fernandez. “They were also shocked.”

The leader of the American team, Theo Faucher in Florida, where his group eliminated the debris of Hurricane Debby. He said that the agency was “patriotic”, calling it good for the country and for the young adults he led.

With the kind permission of Theo Faucher

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With the kind permission of Theo Faucher

Faucher, the team leader who learned the news in Virginia-Western, said that the reduction in the budget of this small agency is a shame.

“I think Americans is a very patriotic program,” he said, calling that good for the country and good for the young adults he led. They were 18 and 19 who had never left the house and did not know what they wanted to do with their lives, he said. But as they saw the country together, “personal growth and the agency and the skills I saw in these members were massive.”

“Having this opportunity that is snatched for them is simply unreasonable,” said Kaira Esgate, CEO of American service commissionsA non -profit organization that represents state groups that manage American funding.

She admitted that there had been problems, noting that love Failure of eight consecutive audits. A White House spokesperson quoted the same thing in a statement at NPR and underlined $ 45 million in inappropriate payments last year.

Esgate said that incorrect or unqualified payments are a long -standing The government's problem, and Americans have found that $ 45 million in its own expenses. According to the law, inappropriate payments are reimbursed. The agency also improves an awkward computer system to better follow payments. “We would like to see him of course go faster, but I also understand that these things do not only change overnight,” she said.

AmericanS did not respond to a request for NPR comments.

Two judicial disputes were filed on the dismantling of American, one per per community organizations And the other by two dozen States led by Democrats. Like so many other prosecution against the administration, they allege that President Trump does not have the power to empty an agency that has been created and funded for decades by the Congress.

Annmaura Connolly, who directs non -profit voices for national service, said Democrats and Republicans Ayke has long supported American.

“It is really an incredible story of a person's power, or a group of people, to make a difference in their communities, and in a way that has training effects that are doing well in the future,” she said. Americans transforms not only those who serve, she said, but also students that many teach and mentornt.

Local and regional non -profit And the confessional groups are in shock from this loss, she said, and American helps staff in large organizations as a habitat for humanity, Teach for America and the great Sisters of America. Funding can also be crucial for local savings.

“In states like Virginia-Western, it is a massive opportunity to keep young people, talented young people in the state, help them prepare for careers and really invest in their communities there. And they were hardly affected by this,” she said.

This was also a financial blow for many members of the American Service.

In Chicago, Madly Espinoza, 26, has spent several months helping subsidies for a non -profit organization that supports homeless families. She had the American education price at the end of the one year's mission to help pay her community student loan. But now she doesn't know if she will get the total amount.

“Everything you plan, maybe an expense or something else,” she said, “now you have to dismember and think:” How will I compensate for this? “So it's difficult.”

“Right now, I'm currently without noise,” said Nate Rebosa, who had spent only a few weeks to help the American Red Cross in Lubbock, Texas, before being dismissed. He always wants to enter this type of community or government work, but says that the financing of American supports so much that “I am in limbo who now tries to find a job”.

The loss of jobs cannot also mean any health or federal insurance Unemployment alliancesA concern for many licensed members. American service commissions have collected funds for a emergency fund To offer help.

The 85% of American staff on remunerated administrative leave will have the end of their employment on June 24. Esgate said that the agency still had another funding, but that a staff shortage could make it difficult to administer. She also feared that non -profit organizations were now wary of welcoming volunteers. “Will they just say, what do you know … there are too many risks here for us?” she wondered.