Leila Faldin

So in a statement to NPR, the Office of Management and Budget said these anti-poverty programs fund, quote, radically partisan activities.

It cited teaching toddlers to be anti-racist and using clean energy for environmental justice.

It said President Trump ran on fiscal responsibility and ending wasteful DEI spending.

Have these anti-poverty groups been able to keep operating through all of this funding turmoil?

Mostly, yes, they have.

Hattis says the states really helped shift funding around to fill these gaps.

But they've definitely had to pull back on some things, including plans to create a badly needed homeless shelter in Ohio.

They're also losing staff who've gotten nervous about job cuts, and they have had to lay people off or cut back on their hours.

And that includes Kelsey Sexton.

She manages the front desk at HapCap.

You know, these layoffs can be an extra blow in rural areas like this without a lot of other jobs.

These anti-poverty groups are a real driver for some local economies.

Looking ahead, do we have any sense of whether this is over?

I mean, for these groups after a year of all this turmoil, is there any sense that, you know, the worst might be over and things might calm down?

I did not hear that from anyone.

Again, just deep uncertainty and fear.

And there are changes underway that could leave even more people in need.

Major cuts to Medicaid and SNAP food aid will take hold next year.

The Trump administration wants to scale back on rental aid, help for people leaving homelessness.

And we see prices going up and unemployment going up, right?