Guest Opinion | Chloe Oliveras: AmeriCorps Members Stepped Up for Southern California — It’s Time to Do the Same for Them

Originally published on Pasadena Now

When wildfires tore through Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Altadena, the damage was swift and unforgiving. Families were displaced. Homes were lost. Schools were shuttered. But amid the smoke and devastation, AmeriCorps members stepped in.

As a former AmeriCorps member and now the Executive Director of Reading Partners Los Angeles, I witnessed firsthand how these service members, in partnership with California Volunteers, mobilized to distribute essential supplies to those affected by the fires. Their work was so impactful that Governor Gavin Newsom visited to personally thank them, honoring their resilience, their compassion, and their commitment to the communities they serve.

Last week, the grants to support these AmeriCorps members were abruptly terminated in Los Angeles and other California communities. It created a ripple effect of damage that now touches not just these service members, but the thousands of students, families, and disaster victims who relied on them.

In Southern California, 28 AmeriCorps members working with Reading Partners are directly affected. These members aim to coordinate programs and recruit the individuals needed to provide essential one-on-one literacy support to students in underserved communities. They led  nearly 25,000 tutoring sessions last year here in the Los Angeles region and were actively working to support academic recovery for students impacted by the fires. Nationwide, over 3,500 AmeriCorps members have served with Reading Partners since 2010.

AmeriCorps has consistently had strong bipartisan support from House and Senate lawmakers. For decades, members of both parties have recognized the program’s efficiency, ability to address critical community needs, and significant return on investment. This funding decision has the potential to dismantle the programs made available thanks to AmeriCorps’ national commitment to service. At this moment, our tutoring programs are halted because we no longer have the workforce needed to facilitate them.

AmeriCorps members aren’t abstract statistics or federal employees. They are people who selflessly volunteer a year (or more) of their lives to uplift communities that are often overlooked. They receive a modest stipend and often get little recognition for what is a generous act of patriotism. But they believe in something bigger than themselves. California’s strength shines through because of its people, especially those who choose to serve. We should be honoring AmeriCorps members for their dedication, not leaving them in limbo.

The consequences of these cuts will be long-lasting. Students who are tutored by AmeriCorps members are finally catching up after pandemic-era learning loss. Without weekly tutoring sessions, they will fall behind again. Communities still recovering from natural disasters may be left without critical support in their efforts to rebuild. Nonprofits that depend on AmeriCorps to deliver frontline services may have to scale back or close programs entirely.

National service is not a luxury. It is a proven, cost-effective tool for solving some of our nation’s most pressing challenges, like the literacy crisis.

Behind every AmeriCorps logo is a real person, a real student, a real community that’s counting on us. We need Congress and the administration to recognize the irreversible damage these cuts will cause to individuals and communities across California.

Chloe Oliveras is the executive director of Reading Partners Los Angeles.