A Brief History of VISTA

by Deb Potee, MA ’92

Note: The purpose of this collection is to present subjective accounts. Please see the Bibliography and Internet Sources for more about the history of national service.

The idea of creating a national service program was developed soon after the Peace Corps was created. President Kennedy organized a small group of people to determine the feasibility of a domestic volunteer service program headed by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. Many of the ideas thrown around at that time are still integral parts of what we know today as VISTA, including having the program be available to people of all ages, keeping it relatively small, a one-year commitment and a modest pay – poverty level – to cover basic living expenses.

The National Service Corps, after being approved by the Senate, met with a hostile Congress and was tabled. VISTA was not actually realized until the Johnson Administration under the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964 in his “War on Poverty” legislation. Along with HeadStart and other anti-poverty programs, VISTA’s goal was to eliminate “poverty in the midst of plenty” by opening to everyone the opportunity to work and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity.

August 20, 1964, the Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. The purpose of Act was stated as follows:

Although the economic well-being and prosperity of the United States have progressed to a level surpassing any achieved in world history, and although these benefits are widely shared throughout the Nation, poverty continues to be the lot of a substantial number of our people. The United States can achieve its full economic and social potential as a nation only if every individual has the opportunity to contribute to the full extent of his capabilities and to participate in the workings of our society. It is, therefore, the policy of this Nation to eliminate the paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty in this Nation by opening to everyone the opportunity for education and training, the opportunity to work, and the opportunity to live in decency and dignity. It is the purpose of the Act to strengthen, support, and coordinate effort in furtherance of that policy.

On December 12, 1964, just four months after the legislation was enacted, President and Lady Bird Johnson welcomed the first group of twenty VISTA volunteers to the White House. The President concluded his welcoming remarks by saying,

“Your pay will be low; the conditions of your labor often will be difficult. But you will have the satisfaction of leading a great national effort and you will have the ultimate reward which comes to those who serve their fellow man.”

Ranging from ages 18 through 81, these VISTAs traveled to Chapel Hill for an intensive six-week training. They were then placed in the urban neighborhoods of Hartford, CT, the rural hills of Kentucky and the migrant camps of California.

From the AmeriCorps*VISTA 30th Anniversary Booklet:
“By the end of its first decade, VISTA had helped develop a range of projects around the U.S., including block watch clubs, credit unions and agricultural cooperatives. Thousands of people received basic medical services for the first time. Day care centers flourished in migrant communities. Adult education programs were established in cities, on Indian reservations and in isolated regions of Alaska. And low-income Americans were finding that they had not only the right, but also the means to revitalize their lives and renew their neighborhoods.”

As experience with poverty issues grew, VISTA also recruited lawyers, doctors, and architects to work in underserved areas.

With each administration and political ideology, VISTA was alternatively funded or marked for elimination. During the Reagan Administration, national recruiting and training units were dismantled, though grassroots support kept the basic structure and empowerment philosophy aliv

The National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, a priority of President Clinton, absorbed VISTA and other ACTION programs into a new quasi-federal agency, the Corporation for National Service.

The history of VISTA has been a colorful, and occasionally painful one, like the United States itself. Working with coal miners in rural Appalachia, VISTA volunteers were held on sedition charges by local authorities. These charges soon proved to be baseless and the volunteers were released. Due to real or perceived issues, VISTA Volunteers are prohibited from any activity that can be interpreted as political involvement. Each VISTA project must notify the Governor before implementation.

Regardless, the study of the experiences of VISTA Volunteers is a study of how Americans view poverty and the very human story of the cost of poverty. Of course, the best way to understand is to simply listen to those who have been there.