Over the past few months, I’ve watched our government dismantle and defund programs that are meant to keep our communities healthy and safe. I’ve witnessed friends lose jobs in various federal roles, but this week, the dismantling of a program that has done so much good for our country and our communities has hit especially hard. A number of AmeriCorps staff were placed on leave, and members of NCCC (a disaster-focused branch of AmeriCorps) were told to leave before completing their term of service. It is heartbreaking and unfair for individuals who’ve dedicated part of their lives to service.
Before becoming a therapist, I served as a Notre Dame Mission Volunteers AmeriCorps member for a year and a half, and later became a Site Director for four years. When I joined the program, I had no idea what a beautiful community I was stepping into. My experiences in these roles, the communities I served and the leaders I was exposed to shaped the direction of my life and put me on the path to becoming a therapist. In these roles, I learned to reflect on my own biases, serve communities in ways they chose, listen deeply to those I was serving, and honor the work of those who came before us. As therapists, we are encouraged to do much the same. Become aware of our countertransference, meet people where they are, and approach each person with humility and curiosity rather than assumption. Therapy, just like community service, isn’t about “fixing” someone. It’s about walking alongside them, witnessing their story, and supporting their self-defined path to healing.
Through AmeriCorps, I’ve had the privilege of learning from leaders on both a macro (national) and micro (organizational) level. These people show up day after day, not for recognition or wealth, but driven by a commitment to serve. Public service is not glamorous. It doesn’t come with big paychecks or flashy titles, and it’s often met with challenges like lack of resources, funding, and staffing. But when we measure the impact by lives touched, communities strengthened, and systems changed, the results are profound. If we want to talk about “government efficiency,” this work might represent the most efficient return in the entire budget. Multiple reports show that AmeriCorps members, working on the ground in various communities, contribute to incredible, far-reaching outcomes. I’ve seen school programs, environmental education, senior outreach, food security, immigration resources, shelters for survivors of IPV, reentry programming for incarcerated individuals, and so much more, all made possible because of AmeriCorps members who are doing the hard, everyday work in our communities.
As a graduate student, I remember learning that having just one supportive adult in a child or adolescent’s life can significantly mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Immediately, I thought of my own service. I thought of the kids from broken homes, my immigrant students whose parents worked so hard, and those whose caregivers were emotionally unavailable because of their own struggles. And that’s when it clicked. I had the opportunity to be that one person for those students. Throughout my service, I witnessed how simply showing up consistently, meeting people where they were, and supporting their goals made a huge difference. I wasn’t necessarily healing trauma, but I was challenging the beliefs many of these students had internalized, that they weren’t worth the time or effort or they could not change their lives. The work I and my fellow AmeriCorps members did challenged these beliefs head on.
I saw students who struggled to complete homework go on to graduate. I supported teens navigating overbearing family dynamics. I created spaces where students could safely express themselves and explore their emotions. What I learned is that presence matters. Being there with compassion and consistency helped these students begin to rewrite the harmful narratives they had internalized about themselves. I saw the same transformations as a site director, watching my AmeriCorps members consistently make huge impacts on the students they served. My members filled gaps in our broken education system with smiles and dedication, showing up every day despite personal struggles. I now see how my belief in them translated into their belief in themselves and in their ability to use their skills to serve others. I watched students and members transform into leaders, creators, and healers in ways they nor I ever expected. I can easily say that the lessons I learned in this role fully helped shape how I show up as a therapist today. The examples I saw and the challenges I was given prepared me for this role in ways I did not understand and laid the groundwork for my systemic, community and person centered approaches with clients.
What’s more important, is that I learned that no one can do this work alone. Whether it’s healing, community work, or changing the system altogether. Having community and people around who can lift you up does way more than any individual therapist could. Of course, having a therapist can be an amazing tool if one is available to you, but healing happens in community.
When I hear that this administration is cutting these roles, I hear that they are taking away opportunities for students and community members to have someone who truly believes in them. They are taking away opportunities for community members’ ability to see and learn from one another. The ability for our young people to develop the skills and passion to contiue serving for years to come. I hear our government choosing to let our communities down and continue to devalue the power of consistent, dedicated human connection and the ability to heal one another. These roles aren’t just service jobs, they are lifelines. They make the difference between a student giving up or deciding to try one more time, between someone feeling invisible or finally being seen. Helping students and community members imagine and set themselves up for better opportunities in their lives.
To remove these roles is to ignore the quiet, everyday impact of showing up consistently. It’s to say that the well-being, growth, and resilience of our communities are expendable. It is to remove the inherently and overwhelmingly therapeutic role that these members fill. But I know from my experience that when you give someone even just one consistent adult who believes in them, you plant the seed for transformation. And that transformation, while it may be slow and unseen, ultimately shapes the outcomes of our society and our lives. It gives our youth an opportunity to see a new path forward.
In the end, the value of these programs cannot be measured just by dollars or numbers, but by the lives they touch, the futures they shape, and the resilience they build within our communities. The loss of these roles is not just a policy decision. It’s an unfair loss for those who will never get to experience the power of having someone believe in them. As a society, we have the choice to invest in our people or to abandon them. Choosing to preserve these opportunities means investing in the potential of every individual, especially those who need it most. The work of AmeriCorps members, and public service as a whole, is a commitment to showing up for others, no matter how hard it gets. Whether we have the funding or not, I know that the people have dedicated their lives to this field will continue to show up for one another, advocate for our communities and keep believing in those who need it most.
For anyone interested in helping to preserve AmeriCorps, please take a moment to contact your representatives. This link from Voices for National Service takes 2 minutes to fill out.
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