A Navy veteran is blasting the Trump administration’s cancellation of Massachusetts’s only federally funded pre-college program exclusively serving veterans.
The federal grant for the Veterans Upward Bound program at Suffolk University ended on September 30.
The program has helped veterans transition from military to civilian education for nearly 20 years.
It served approximately 125 veterans per year by providing free academic instruction, tutoring, and college planning.
“It’s painful. This is a hard pill to swallow,” said Ashley Booker, a Navy veteran who lost her job with the program. “We helped a lot of veterans who didn’t know they had a way out.”
Booker recalls how the program changed her life after she drove from Nashville, Tennessee, to Boston, with her 7-year-old son during the pandemic.
She was initially homeless and credits the federally funded initiative for giving her direction and purpose.
“I honestly do not know if I would be where I am today if it wasn’t for Veterans Upward Bound,” she told Boston 25 News. “I went from not having any family to having a whole support system.”
Booker went on to earn an associate degree and just received a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Suffolk University back in May.
She was hired full-time as a TRIO program manager at Veterans Upward Bound.
She’s now out of a job but even more worried for others who won’t have the same bridge to higher education.
“These are scary times for you to attack education,” she said. “I don’t think they have a care in the world for who they’re affecting in the decisions they’re making.”
Program administrators said the U.S. Department of Education explained that the grant was being cancelled because the term “restorative justice” was used.
Suffolk University used that term to describe its “VetConnect” peer support gatherings.
“Restorative justice” is often mentioned in connection with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion terminology.
Boston 25 News reached out to the U.S. Department of Education for more answers.
An automated response said it’s currently on furlough status and will respond to emails once the government shutdown ends.
Elected leaders are working with veterans’ advocates to push for the Trump administration to reverse its decision.
“He has already cut veterans services and cost them jobs, and now he’s ending a program that was helping our veterans afford college and build their careers,” said Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.
The Veterans Upward Bound program consistently exceeded federal performance benchmarks.
The most recent statistics show 80 percent of participants demonstrated academic improvement, 87 percent completed or persisted in the program, and 100 percent of completers enrolled in college within a year.
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