Donald Trump is trying to eliminate Job Corps, saying the move will save taxpayers money. He has instructed the Department of Labor to shutter all 99 centers across the country by June 30th. Here in Chautauqua County this means 100 people will lose their jobs and 190 students currently enrolled will lose access to job training, housing and health care.

Job Corps was established more than 60 years ago to help poor and disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16 to 24 learn a trade. It has provided a stable environment where basic necessities of food and shelter are met. It connects graduates with employers in a variety of fields, from construction to healthcare.

The push to abolish the program came following a Department of Labor report by a DOGE staffer who used misleading information, and arguably false analysis. The report based findings on a year during the Covid-19 pandemic when restrictions on enrollment limited the number of students, in order to assert that the cost per student was too high. In fact, the budget for Job Corps campus operations has not increased for eight years, despite inflation. The report also claimed the average annual income of a Job Corps graduate is $16,695. In actuality the average starting wage is $17.13/hour, closer to $36,000/year. The starting wage for our local Job Corps graduates is $19.30/hour. Another false claim was that the graduation rate was just 38.6%. It has historically been greater than 60%.

This is a program that contributes $17 million annually to Chautauqua County. As the second poorest county in New York State, the loss of that revenue will be keenly felt. In the village of Cassadaga, where Job Corps is one of the biggest water customers, the shut down will result in higher fees for residents.

I attended the press conference and rally to Save Cassadaga Job Corps earlier this month. The fire hall in Stockton was filled to capacity with supporters. I stood at the back(because all the seats were taken) to listen to testimonies from both students and staff. One graduate said he’d been homeless, “couch-surfing” at friends’ houses because his mother was battling drug addiction. He said Job Corps literally saved his life. As he told his story I glanced at the Job Corps employee standing to my right. She was wiping tears from her face. There were many moving success stories about the pride people felt when they could finally take care of themselves.

Letters were displayed from a variety of employers and organizations, as well as town and local officials and individuals. Most were addressed to Donald Trump directly, pleading with him to change course. These included Absolut Care of Westfield, Union Local 276 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, Chautauqua County Rural Ministry of Dunkirk, highway superintendents and other officers from the towns of Portland, Silver Creek and Stockton, ASPIRE, the League of Women Voters, the IDA, the mayor of Jamestown, Kim Ecklund, employees of Job Corps, and others. Many pointed out that Chautauqua County voted overwhelmingly for Trump, believing he would take us in the direction we needed to go.

Now, we face the prospect of diminishing returns on our tax dollars, as the cost of goods and services go up and benefits are reduced. Promises to crack down on criminals who were here illegally has turned into rounding up people at Home Depot who are just trying to work. People following all the rules, checking in at scheduled immigration hearings, are whisked away by men who don’t identify themselves. There is a crisis brewing when it comes to filling all sorts of jobs. I don’t think this is what people thought would happen when they voted for Trump.

There are questions about whether Trump’s DOL even has the authority to shut down a program that Congress already allocated funds for. But Nick Langworthy and the rest of the GOP seem only too willing to hand over the “power of the purse.” Our congressman says he has to “study” the situation further before taking action. He has said he will talk to the administrators of Job Corps to clear up questions raised by the DOL report. I hope he does because time is running out.

Mayor Ecklund’s letter to the president concluded with this request, “We ask that your administration make a clear and lasting commitment to the tradespeople of tomorrow by continuing to support the Job Corps program. These young people want to work. They want to contribute. They want to become taxpaying citizens who strengthen our economy and communities. Please let them.”

Rachel Brown is a Greenhurst resident.