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Metropolitan Ministries prepares to lose dozens of workers following federal budget cuts

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Published  April 30, 2025 6:32pm EDT
Tampa
FOX 13 News
Federal budget cuts impact Metropolitan Ministries

Federal budget cuts impact Metropolitan Ministries

FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer reports.

The Brief

    • Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries is set to lose nearly 30 workers because of federal budget cuts.
    • The Trump Administration terminated AmeriCorps, a nationwide community service program used to staff the ministries Metro BridAIDe.
    • The Metro BrigAIDe goes into the community looking to help homeless individuals and families where they are.

TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries is preparing to lose dozens of workers tasked with helping homeless families following a series of federal budget cuts. 

The organization's Metro BrigAIDe is staffed by AmeriCorps, a nationwide community service program funded by the federal government. 

The Metro BrigAIDe has at least 30 people who go out into the community to search for homeless individuals and families, looking to help them get back on their feet and, in some cases, into housing. 

What they're saying:

Metro Ministries CEO Tim Marks cited an example of the important work done by AmeriCorps.

"This past week, the Brigade met an 80-year-old senior citizen with a service animal in Pasco County who'd been on the street for four years. He couldn't find our front door, but we found him," Marks said.

RELATED: AmeriCorps cuts volunteers loose, citing White House cuts

"We're trying to create opportunities for life change, so people can be self-sufficient," Marks said. "That's what the BrigAIDe program did, and it will continue to do that, but on a much smaller scale."

He said BrigAIDe has helped hundreds of people each year since the program began in 2018. 

As of this Friday, however, those 30 workers will be out of their jobs. The Trump Administration announced the end of AmeriCorps as part of its attempts to eliminate wasteful spending. 

The other side:

According to the White House, the nationwide AmeriCorps organization has "failed eight consecutive audits," and made more than $45 million in improper payments last year alone. 

Marks said the workers who operate in Tampa have done so much good in the community, and he plans to try to keep at least a third of them, if possible.

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The Source: FOX 13’s Aaron Mesmer collected the information in this story.

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