Federal funding cuts have impacted aid programs and nonprofits across the country. Locally, Skyline Literacy has been feeling the brunt after their grant from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was frozen indefinitely. WMRA’s Calvin Pynn reports.
Skyline Literacy relies primarily on federal grants to provide services in the Shenandoah Valley. The nonprofit shared a letter dated Feb. 4 from the USCIS, informing them that their grant was frozen until further notice, as per a memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security. The sudden freeze has pushed them to find alternative funding.
Cynthia Prieto is a retired educator who serves on the agency's board.
CYNTHIA PRIETO: This grant is a chunk of our … budget. And so that involves a scramble to figure out, how do we continue to provide services so that it isn’t as much of an impact as it dribbles down to the people we are serving.
The nonprofit provides multiple services for adults in the Harrisonburg area, including English classes, citizen test preparation and high school equivalency courses, among others. Many of the people who rely on Skyline Literacy are immigrants and, according to Prieto, the funding cuts have targeted agencies working with those communities, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion – or DEI – initiatives in general.
PRIETO: The heartbreak is, the citizenship component is huge. This isn’t just a matter of, "hey, learn to read," sort of thing. We are improving people’s lives.
She said Skyline is trying to hold off on cutting staff as a last resort, instead reducing hours, renting out office space and prioritizing their core services in the interim to mitigate the impact of the funding cuts. They are also looking to community support and the upcoming “Great Community Give” to offset the shortfall.
