BALTIMORE — The last week has left non-profits and other AmeriCorps-supported groups reeling after another round of fresh federal funding cuts.
The Maryland Attorney General calls the move by the Trump Administration illegal.
“Every day is like waking up to a natural disaster with a sense of urgency on what do we do to protect our communities, our families? But the only difference is that a natural disaster, more often than not, there's nothing you can do to stop it," Attorney General Anthony Brown said. "We can do something to stop it, and that's why we're in court here in Maryland."
The AG's office has led a coalition of now 26 states to reinstate the $400 milllion in funding losses for AmeriCorps.
The legal challenge represents one of more than a dozen filed by the state since President Trump began his second term in office.
On Thursday, state leaders called on others to help the more than 20 organizations in Maryland affected when the funding vanished practically overnight.
"What we know is that the courts are the bulwark of our democracy. Unfortunately, the courts cannot keep pace with the actions that we know are coming from Washington D.C.," Senate President Bill Ferguson said. "They're the threads that bind us together and that secure our democratic fabric. Right now, this fabric is under threat."
The state reports 550 positions have been eliminated.
Eight are service workers with the Digital Harbor Foundation, who spearhead the Harbor Navigators Baltimore project that aims to bridge the digital divide.
Adding insult to injury, director of the program Jade Burnham says she was told to get rid of any related signage, including a banner that hung in the room where workers were trained.
“So, we removed pretty much all evidence of the program existing, but we haven't removed them from our hearts or our minds and we're gonna fight for them," Burnham said.
"Our community not only needs these services, they deserve them. Everyone deserves an equal chance. That's what this Administration said, isn't it? Equal chance for everyone, equal opportunity," she added.
State leaders call for donations after AmeriCorps cuts
In the meantime, not all hope is lost.
Ferguson announced on Thursday that BGE and the South Baltimore Gateway Partnership have donated $80,000 to help support Digital Harbor and Elev8 Baltimore in their time of need.
Burnham hopes that she'll be able to bring back the members she's lost.
“It was definitely news to my ears and my heart I'm really hopeful that we can make some changes and get some of these services restarted," she said.
“Now I can confidently go back to those young people and say we got it, at least for now," executive director for Elev8 Alexandria Adams said. "We're gonna be able to mitigate the loss. We're gonna be able to mitigate the harm that it's gonna cause to our employees."
The DOJ has agreed to an expedited briefing schedule in the current lawsuit against the White House.
Brown says he believes there will be movement on the case by next week and hopes a judge will grant an injunction to restore the funding.
Meanwhile, Ferguson says that the state will continue to invest in service but the path ahead remains unclear.
"If we are not able to receive federal dollars moving forward, it will mean a retraction in these core community serving programs that are building neighborhoods and building community," he said.
Ferguson added the state is looking into long term solutions to help prop up the affected organizations as well as help displaced service members who do not qualify for unemployment benefits.
