GRAFTON, Mass. - The U.S. Department of Labor is pausing operations at job corps centers across the country.

The Grafton Job Corps Center is one of more than 120 in the U.S.

It provides nearly 200 students between the ages of 16 and 24 with free career training.

Jeannie Hebert is the President and CEO of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce and serves on the job corps community development board. 

The chamber serves as a hub for the corps advanced manufacturing classes. 

She said the department's announcement is devastating and cruel. 

She said about 30 of the students are homeless and will have nowhere to go come Monday when the campus will be evacuated. 

"This is very difficult,” said Hebert. “These kids are like family to us, especially the ones we have in advanced manufacturing. We see them every day. They come five days a week. Their last day is today at the Hub and it's been a really sad day. They've been a part of the Grafton community for decades now. There are no words to say how devastated we are and the kids are heartbroken."

The Department of Labor said the decision to close the centers aligns with the president’s fiscal year 20-26 budget proposal and reflects the administration’s commitment to ensure federal workforce investments deliver meaningful results.

The job corps center in Chicopee is also set to close. 

State Senator Jake Oliveira said the move not only jeopardizes the futures of students who depend on job corps for career training, ut also threatens the livelihoods of the staff.

Hebert encourages people to reach out to local lawmakers to help keep the centers open.