CINCINNATI — Lacking the necessary federal funding, Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio (CCSWOH) has announced it will likely shut down two of its AmeriCorps Seniors programs serving Hamilton County come Sept. 30.
For nearly 60 years, CCSWOH staff have run the senior companion and foster grandparent programs, which contributed a combined 83,000 hours of service to the community in 2024, serving nearly 500 senior citizens and students, CCSWOH CEO Tony Stieritz said.
"That's a very low-cost, big impact that these senior volunteers offer this community," Stieritz said. "[Seniors] look forward to this program because it gives them a sense of purpose. It gives them a very structured opportunity to give to the community."
In a July statement, a CCSWOH spokesperson said the likely shutdown of the programs is due to the Trump Administration withholding nearly $200 million in AmeriCorps funds, which Congress previously appropriated.
"The White House is impounding all AmeriCorps funds, and by default, that also means our AmeriCorps Seniors programs here locally," Stieritz said.
The senior companion program places volunteers with other low-income older adults who need help with daily activities. In 2024, volunteers logged more than 28,000 hours of service helping 148 isolated older adults, veterans and disabled adults.
"This can include meal preparation, grocery shopping, transportation to medical appointments and sometimes, most importantly, just socialization," Stieritz said.
The foster grandparent program places volunteers throughout 21 public and private schools in the community, where they help mentor and tutor kids. In 2024, volunteers helped 308 students.
"There were students when I first came—maybe their reading level was low—but by the end of the year, they had reached higher goals than I had ever anticipated," Robin Jones, an AmeriCorps Seniors foster grandparent, said. "It's important because it's needed. It is needed. I can say that over and over again."
Jones said the news of the program's probable closure has taken a mental and physical toll, and students will lose out on valuable resources.
"I was heartbroken," Jones said. "I feel if we're not there, our kids are going to fall back, and we need them to move forward."
Stieritz said if the federal funding picture doesn't change by mid-August, the nonprofit will begin winding down the two programs, impacting around 70 senior volunteers, with a complete closure expected Sept. 30. Even so, there will be future efforts to revive the programs in different forms.
"We'll really need to kind of redesign things, and at least for the foreseeable future, it'll be much smaller in scope than what we were able to provide with the federal partnership," Stieritz said.
