A nonprofit organization in Venice announced Thursday that it is one of 32 organizations in the United States that will receive a multi-million-dollar grant to address homelessness from a program led by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
St. Joseph Center, which provides services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, said it received $5 million from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, which issued a total of $98.5 million in grants this year.
“The trauma of homelessness is incredibly harmful to families,” said Va Lecia Adams Kellum, the president and CEO of St. Joseph Center. “Support from the Day 1 Families Fund will have a profound impact on our ability to protect families and help them regain stability.”
The one-time grant will allow St. Joseph Center to establish a hub for families experiencing homelessness that will combine “critically needed bridge housing” to provide homeless people shelter before transitioning into permanent supportive housing, the nonprofit said.
The fund was devised by an advisory board of homelessness advocates and experts who identified and invited organizations to submit grant proposals to support their efforts to address homelessness.
The Bezos Day One Fund, which is split between the Day 1 Families Fund and the Day 1 Academies Fund, was launched in 2018 with a commitment of $2 billion and a focus on funding existing nonprofits that help homeless families and to create a network of new, nonprofit preschools in low-income communities.
“Excited to announce this year’s Bezos Day One grants,” Bezos stated on Twitter. “Thank you to these 32 organizations in 23 states working to end homelessness.”
More information can be found at www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.