DOGE AmeriCorps cuts deliver ‘huge hit’ to Boise homelessness nonprofit
A Boise-area eviction- and homelessness-prevention nonprofit faces federal cuts of three full-time volunteers critical to its services, as Idahoans see soaring rents and record eviction rates.
Jesse Tree learned on Tuesday that its AmeriCorps Vista program was placed on “administrative hold” by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, according to a news release announcing the cuts.
The Vista program is a national service program that since 1965 has paired volunteer members with organizations and public agencies with the goal of combating poverty, according to the AmeriCorps Vista website. On Friday, The Washington Post reported that DOGE ordered AmeriCorps to terminate almost $400 million in grants, 41% of its total grant funding. The White House placed at least 85% of AmeriCorps’ full-time staff on administrative leave last month, the Associated Press reported.
Jesse Tree’s three Vista members were informed by AmeriCorps on Tuesday that their service with Jesse Tree had ended effective immediately, said Evan Stewart, the nonprofit’s acting executive director.
Stewart told the Idaho Statesman by phone that the nonprofit was not independently informed by Americorps but learned of the program’s cessation from the members.
“It’s a huge hit for our agency,” said Stewart, who noted that Jesse Tree has “relied heavily on the AmeriCorps Vista program” for six or seven years.
Stewart said the members are involved in outreach, fundraising, grant-writing, and volunteer recruitment. He said the cuts represent roughly an eighth of Jesse Tree’s total staff.
Stewart is at the nonprofit’s helm while Idaho state Sen. Ali Rabe, the executive director, is on parental leave.
Nonprofit helps prevent evictions as rents soar
According to its 2024 report, Jesse Tree helped prevent eviction for 1,500 families in the Treasure Valley last year, marking a 100% success rate on eviction court mediations that the organization participated in. About 1,000 of those families received rental assistance, which the organization distributed to the tune of $1.7 million in 2024.
These services were enabled by $1.5 million in private donations including from individuals and corporations, $540,000 from foundations, and $1.2 million in government grants in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
The organization has had to increase its reliance on donations after seeing a reduction in federal funding in recent years, the report said.
Stewart said Jesse Tree received an influx in federal grants during the COVID-19 pandemic, including $3.5 million in 2021. Since those funds expired in 2022, Jesse Tree has been “getting less and less federal funding funneled through the state of Idaho,” he said.
Meanwhile demand for Jesse Tree’s services has grown. Evictions in the area have tripled since 2020, reaching 1,615 eviction dispositions in Ada County and 605 in Canyon County in 2024, the nonprofit reported. Twice as many families applied for Jesse Tree’s rental assistance last year as did in 2020.
And rents in the Boise area have shot up as the region has grown. An analysis by Keller Williams Realty Boise showed that average rental prices in Boise increased by almost 19% from September 2021 to September 2024, the Statesman reported. Average rents sat at $1,935 a month as of December 2024, the analysis’ most recent number.
Uncertainty for Jesse Tree, AmeriCorps members
The cuts have created uncertainty for both the nonprofit and the Vista volunteers, who receive a living allowance of roughly $1,700 per month and health insurance through AmeriCorps.
Stewart told the Statesman that the Vista members were given 21 days to secure another placement, or their contracts with AmeriCorps would be terminated. He said they reached out to their designated AmeriCorps representative for assistance but found that the representative had been terminated or placed on leave several weeks earlier, likely in relation to the recent DOGE cuts to the agency.
“They have really nobody they can reach out to through the Vista program to help them get through this process,” Stewart said. “They have no idea what they’re going to do.”
Stewart also noted in the news release that “with only a few months remaining in their service terms, it is unclear whether they will still be eligible for their education awards.”
AmeriCorps members who complete a year of service often receive an education award to put toward student loans or tuition. The awards vary from roughly $3,000 to $7,000, depending on service time, and are subject to state and federal taxes.
Stewart said that because its program was cut, Jesse Tree had to revoke its offer to a fourth Vista member, who was supposed to start in the coming weeks.
“It’s going to take a while for us to try to, you know, heal and build up from this experience,” Stewart told the Statesman. “We were already short staffed here, and this ... makes it even harder for us.”
Other states are reporting effects of AmeriCorps cuts, too.
