By Rodd Cayton
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller is again blasting Donald Trump administration policies he says will hurt residents of the city.
The latest offense from the president, according to a news release from Keller’s office, is “pausing” a grant the city was relying on to provide assistance to homebound seniors and multigenerational families.
The grant would have brought a team of AmeriCorps members to Albuquerque. Those volunteers are part of a national service agency created in 1993 that assists with disaster aid, environmental stewardship, health care access and other priorities.
In Albuquerque, the team was to start next week on tasks such as cleaning up yards and building accessibility ramps for seniors, as well as mitigating fire risk in overgrown areas, and fixing code violations for seniors who can no longer maintain their homes.
In a letter to the city, AmeriCorps official Jaime Brancato wrote that new direction from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) means AmeriCorps is “working within new operational parameters that impact the program’s ability to sustain program operations.”
Brancato did not return messages Friday seeking comment.
AmeriCorps was to send seven workers to Albuquerque. Mayor’s office Spokesperson Staci Drangmeister said the grant to the city isn’t a dollar amount, but a number of corps members. The city provides an in-kind match in services such as housing, transportation and equipment.
Drangmeister said each AmeriCorps member receives “a very modest payment and, at the end of the term, an educational stipend.”
A city news release puts the cost to the federal government at about $91 per member per week. It states the team would have helped hundreds of seniors this summer.
“Donald Trump has sunk to a stunning new low by picking on seniors,” Keller said. “We had homes queued up and a team of young people ready to help seniors in need, and Donald Trump has ripped the rug right out from under them.”
Keller described the withholding of funding for AmeriCorps members as the latest in a series of federal actions targeting city programs. Others, he said, include undermining law enforcement funding and attacking language promoting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within city government.
To close the gap, city leaders are asking volunteers, nonprofit partners, and other residents to sign up to help seniors in need or apply to work at the city.
Have you served as an AmeriCorps volunteer and were impacted by recent federal grant cuts? We would love to hear from you about this issue. Rodd Cayton can be reached by email at rodd@newmexico.news.