Living wage? It didn’t even pay minimum wage. It’s a hybrid service, training program , though very much a job. At end of service, a grant is made available to either use to pay student loans or for future education.
Unlike Teach For America, where the participants are teaching, Americorp members are assisting. They are not employees of the school and that demarcation is very clear, discernible immediately due to the uniform worn.
A great benefit the program gave my kid was that he became a viable candidate for better than entry level jobs after a year of service with Americorp. He didn’t find jobs that paid him a living wage before that experience.
But, yes, the pay is sub par, and the program does direct participants to…welfare programs.