Alumni of program lauds opportunities available through AmeriCorps
Robert Shook was already connected with military veterans in the community in 2011, when he quit his job in a housing authority department to become a member of AmeriCorps. As a veteran of the Army himself, he knew other military personnel through the American Legion, but also some who were struggling to find and maintain housing.
Being a member of AmeriCorps gave Shook the time to work more directly with those veterans who were struggling with housing.
“I was working at the housing authority when I decided to join AmeriCorps, so I quit a job to work at AmeriCorps,” Shook said. “I wanted to do more in the community.”
AmeriCorps is the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. From mentoring students to supporting disaster recovery, helping older adults age with dignity and tackling other pressing needs, AmeriCorps helps communities across the country, according to its website.
In Butler County, many AmeriCorps members are enrolled and assigned to positions via Independence Health System, and Mattew McConnell, program coordinator for Family Service Corps-AmeriCorps.
McConnell said PennSERVE is the state agency that oversees money allocated from the federal government to AmeriCorps programs, and agencies can apply to have AmeriCorps members work for them for a contracted time of a certain number of hours.
“That's basically what our members do. They strengthen the programs within agencies by providing their service,” McConnell said. “I always encourage them to do a special project that isn’t being done already.”
According to AmeriCorps information, members are typically contracted to work 1,700 hours over an approximate one-year period, according to its website. PennSERVE gives around $12 million in federal money from AmeriCorps to AmeriCorps programs in Pennsylvania each year, and assists organizations in creating and managing AmeriCorps programs.
McConnell said the next term, which begins in August, will require members to work 900 hours over the length of their contract.
PennSERVE also provides training, helps with technical problems and gathers AmeriCorps program staff and members together, according to PennSERVE’s informational page on the Pennsylvania government’s website.
McConnell said the Butler County branch of the program has struggled to fill the 18 AmeriCorps positions available, so that number is being cut to about 10 spots for the 2025-26 year. He is now looking for people to apply to those positions, whose service will for the most part begin in August.
McConnell said larger cities in Pennsylvania like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia have a lot more AmeriCorps members than Butler, but he is hoping to get the available positions filled this coming year.
“We're looking at getting an informational site, that's what our consultant is helping us do where someone can access a website for just our program,” McConnell said.
Positions available through AmeriCorps in Butler County are at agencies like Butler Memorial Hospital, the county Mental Health Association, Butler County Community College and Slippery Rock University.
A member can apply to a specific agency to work with for their service hours. McConnell said people who are interested in being AmeriCorps members have a variety of options when it comes to what type of work they are doing for an agency as well.
“Some positions need skills, like computer skills, they need to be able to have transportation to get out into the community,” McConnell said. “Other positions are site-based, they don't have to have a Driver's License. It's just a variety of different positions.”
Shook’s work with AmeriCorps allowed him to address a number of areas of community need through one employer. He was born and raised in Cabot, and lived in Butler while working for AmeriCorps.
Shook said AmeriCorps let him directly work with people in situations he was familiar with. He said his prior experience being homeless in Butler County gave him some knowledge on how to help another person.
“I was basically homeless and went through veterans homeless program and was in there with a lot of veterans in recovery,” Shook said. “I was there with them so I helped veterans that are still my good friends get sober. That's what I wanted to do, and I wasn't able to help anyone at the Housing Authority.”
Aid from and for military veterans is a focus for Butler County AmeriCorps, McConnell said. According to McConnell, Butler AmeriCorps has a few veteran members who are currently in positions at Robin’s Home and its Veterans H.E.A.R.T. Resource Center.
“They can give a first-hand support to those veterans coming in because they've been there, and now they're in recovery and with AmeriCorps to provide service to them,” McConnell said. “We do a lot not only to help veterans, our veterans are also providing service.”
McConnell also said that because AmeriCorps positions are contracts and don’t pay as much as a full-time nonprofit job might, the program looks to hire people who are seeking temporary or part-time work. Additionally, the program is good for people who have another source of income, like veterans who get some benefits or people who get money from disability.
“That's why we lean towards individuals who are in recovery or disabled,” McConnell said, “because they have a supplemental income already, and this is something to help them have extra spending money and they're looking for a way to be active, get involved in the community.”
AmeriCorps members can do four terms, but then they can’t sign up to be in the program again. Shook is now an alumni of the program, and said he would do more terms with AmeriCorps if he could, because it was a rewarding experience that gave him the chance to be out in the community for his four terms.
“I feel my four years in AmeriCorps is equal to the four years I served in the U.S. Army,” Shook said. “It's still service I'm very proud of.
“I would go back in a heartbeat, if I could.”
For more information on AmeriCorps in Butler County, contact McConnell at 724-284-6288 or by email at Matthew.McConnell@independence.health.
