EUGENE, Ore. -- The economic woes from the COVID-19 pandemic parallel the Great Depression in some ways, and new research suggests national service programs from the 1930s could be useful for the recovery and for young people who need work.

A Brookings Institution report calls on the country to expand programs like AmeriCorps, YouthBuild and conservation corps over the next few years.

Jeff Parker, executive director for the Eugene-based conservation nonprofit Northwest Youth Corps, backs the idea.

"Our goal is to help these young people build skills and go on to become the next generation of leaders, in whatever capacity they choose that to be," Parker commented. "And for many of them, it might not be conservation, but the time spent in the woods helps them build skills and better understanding of community and leadership."

The Brookings Institution proposed expanding the number of national service positions to 600,000 by 2024, and increasing the living allowance to at least 175% of the federal poverty level, or about 22,000 dollars a year. It estimates this would cost about $19 billion.

The report also noted national service programs could prevent young people from becoming disconnected from the economy and society.

Parker explained one Northwest Youth Corps program assembles people into teams for labor-intensive work, like trail maintenance and wildfire fuels reduction.

He added participants work alongside folks who might be very different from them.

"It's amazing the amount of social growth that can happen," Parker observed. "And really, it's because success or failure depends on the team. No one person can maintain all of that trail by themselves; no one person can plant all those trees or do all the thinning by themselves."

Parker remarked he's seen more calls to revive national service programs in the last nine months than ever before.

For organizations with a conservation focus, he said the need for maintenance on public lands across the country is there, and so is the demand from young people.

"I know at Northwest Youth Corps, we have a waitlist every year," Parker recounted. "That for every one person we put in the woods, we have to say 'no' to three others. And that's not uncommon with our sister and brother corps across the country."

Parker noted conservation corps of the 1930s were top-down federal programs. However, today they're public-private partnerships. He believes the federal government should expand the existing programs in order to increase capacity.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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This Saturday is a National Day of Protest in response to the Trump administration's recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cuts funding for Medicaid, food assistance and other programs.

Hundreds of peaceful protests are planned across the country, including at least nine in Washington state.

Liz Moore, executive director of the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane, is organizing an event with local health care unions, highlighting how federal cuts will hurt health care access and rural hospitals.

"This bill robs hospitals and clinics of funding, including rural hospitals and makes our already tenuous health care system strain and probably break at the seams," Moore contended. "It steals health care coverage from 16 million adults and children."

Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, praised the act's $50 billion allocation for rural health care, though the act is expected to cut total rural health spending by $155 billion.

In Eastern Washington, more than half of children rely on Apple Health, the state's Medicaid system. Moore called the act a heist.

"It really bankrolls massive tax giveaways for the ultrarich and for greedy corporations at the same time that our communities are going to be hurt," Moore asserted. "We say 'no.'"

Many may be feeling overwhelmed in the face of mass deportations or cuts to food aid across the country, Moore added but people need to keep pushing against the policies.

"When we see that we're not alone, when there's somebody you know at the rally, you didn't know was going to be there, those feelings can keep us in motion," Moore emphasized.

Members of the League of Women Voters-Arkansas are collecting signatures to add a constitutional amendment to the November 2026 ballot.

The amendment would give voters a chance to approve or reject election laws passed by the legislature.

Bonnie Miller, president of the League of Women Voters-Arkansas and chair of the coalition Save AR Democracy, said lawmakers have been enacting restrictions since 2013, making it harder for the direct democracy process to work.

"We now have to read a ballot title out loud to somebody or watch them read the entire ballot title. We're not just talking about a sentence here. In some instances, this could be pages of text," Miller outlined. "We now have to see a photo ID, we have to tell them that petition fraud is a crime."

Arkansas lawmakers said the added measures would help prevent voter fraud. There have been five Arkansans convicted of election fraud over the past 20 years.

Earlier this year, the league filed a federal lawsuit attempting to strike down five bills passed by the legislature which it said are unconstitutional and restrict the work of canvassers. Miller pointed out if the amendment is passed in next year's election, any changes to voting laws must be approved by voters.

"It would keep them from being able to refer out amendments that would change the process," Miller explained. "It means that during (the) legislative session, if they pass any bills, that affects the process that those laws don't go into effect until they're on the ballot the following year. "

Volunteers with the "Ballot Measure for Ballot Measure" campaign must collect more than 90,000 signatures by July 3, 2026.

AARP Oregon has opened up nominations for its prestigious award for volunteerism.

For the Andrus Award for Community Service, the organization will select a person or couple, age 50 or older, performing services without pay in their communities.

Geneva Craig, a volunteer for AARP Oregon, won the award in 2019 for her work organizing educational sessions for her community around Medford in Southern Oregon. She said when she was a child, her mother taught her to volunteer by supporting their sick neighbors.

"There's no age group where you can say, 'Oh, I don't have a skill, I don't have a talent,'" Craig emphasized. "You have something to offer, if only to give some support and let somebody know you care."

Oregonians do a lot of volunteering. Data from 2023 show nearly 36% of Oregonians formally volunteered through organizations, about eight points higher than the national average.

Research shows volunteering helps counteract the effects of stress, anxiety and depression, while making people feel more connected and happier. Craig added it is important that volunteers inspire others.

"I'm happy because I'm seeing the rise in people who are stepping back out and offering to volunteer," Craig explained. "I tried to let them know, we're not going to work you to death, OK? This is teamwork."

The deadline for Andrus Award nominations is Sept. 1. The winner receives $1,000 to donate to a nonprofit of their choosing.