Volunteers through the AmeriCorps program say recent cuts by the Trump administration will adversely affect Maine’s communities.

The Portland Press Herald reports that the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency recently canceled $400 million in grants to AmeriCorps, or around 41% of its budget, citing fiscal tightening and audit failures.

Volunteers say that the move puts the service of more than 120 members across Maine at risk; members who provide vital functions like wildfire management and fuel cost reductions to communities. The cuts could also cost members the educational awards they’ve been promised at the end of their service year.

Ellie Hughes, a member of AmeriCorps who’s been helping the town of Chebeague Island, told the Press Herald that the island of 400 year-round residents would feel the loss.

“Just adding one person to a community is not the end-all, be-all, but for Chebeague, it kind of is,” Hughes said. “There are only three full-time employees in the town office. I’ve already been able to advance multiple projects that weren’t even on the table before I came, just because there wasn’t staff capacity to pursue them.”

In response to the cuts, Maine and 22 other states have filed a suit against the Trump administration, arguing they violated the National and Community Service Act by ending contracts unilaterally and without proper notice.

To read the original Portland Press Herald article, click here.