“The biggest concern is the amount of funding tied to these programs. They support a lot of the work we do in the community.”
Gustavo Perez is Executive Director of Kent County Community Action. He says KCCA is urging members of Congress to reject proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget cuts outlined in both President Trump’s proposal and ongoing Congressional negotiations, that would reduce or eliminate funding for essential social service programs, putting thousands of Kent County residents at risk.
“The biggest program that we will feel impacts from is probably our Community Services Block Grant which supports community actions across the country and here in Kent County, that is our lifeline.”
Perez says thousands of seniors could lose access to monthly food boxes, emergency assistance helping low-income residents achieve self-sufficiency could be eliminated and dozens of affordable housing projects and repairs could be cancelled.
“Though it is federal dollars that come down, we do leverage a lot of local support with these dollars, but those local supports are not enough to cover the gap.”
In 2024, KCCA served over 24,000 families, distributed over 113,000 meals and finished 233 home rehab projects.
KCCA is urging the public to contact their representatives and ask them to protect these services.