Day 1 Families Fund grants $98.5 million to 32 nonprofits assisting families experiencing homelessness
TUCSON, AZ – November 21, 2019: Our Family Services, a multi-service organization with a 35-year history of providing a comprehensive array of services to the most vulnerable youth and families in the Southern Arizona community, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $2.5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund.
“This transformative grant will help us provide basic needs and resources to families who are experiencing homelessness, and allow us to work with an additional 220 families,” said Beth Morrison, chief executive officer. “We are humbled and honored to receive the Day 1 Families Fund grant, and we are eager to continue the necessary work being done here in Southern Arizona.”
This one-time grant, awarded to organizations moving the needle on family homelessness, will allow Our Family Services to help extremely vulnerable families who are currently on the waiting list and haven’t received housing assistance due to their need for more intensive interventions and specialized case management that doesn’t fall within current funding guidelines. The Day 1 Families Fund grant will also be used for activities and items that are currently not allowed by other funders, such as funding for hotels, food and furniture as families are working toward a permanent situation.
Our Family Services is one of 32 nonprofits across the U.S. to receive the second annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, as part of a broad investment by the Day 1 Families Fund to help solve family homelessness. The Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $98.5 million in grants this year. The fund worked with an advisory board of homelessness advocates and experts who identified and invited organizations to submit grant proposals to support their efforts to address homelessness. This year, the grant recipients from around the country include Bethany House Services, Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, Catholic Social Services Alaska, Coburn Place, Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Covenant House, Family Gateway, FamilyAid Boston, ForKids, Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, HOPE Services Hawaii, HopeWorks, Interim Community Development Association, Lafayette Transitional Housing Center, Mary’s Place Seattle, MIFA, Our Family Services, Pathways of Hope, St. Joseph Center, St. Joseph’s Villa, St. Stephen’s Human Services, St. Vincent de Paul, The Road Home, The Road Home Dane County, The Whole Child, UNITY Of Greater New Orleans, Upward Bound House, Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, and YWCA Columbus.
The Bezos Day One Fund was launched in 2018 with a commitment of $2 billion and a focus on two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help homeless families, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to provide shelter and hunger support to address the immediate needs of young families. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.
About Our Family Services
Our Family Services is leading the Tucson community’s effort to lift youth and families out of poverty and homelessness. Since 1981, the organization has provided thousands of youth and families a safe place to call home and the opportunity to rebuild their lives. The nonprofit offers safe shelter and housing support for approximately 300 youth and family members nightly, and approximately 85 percent of the youth and families served, transition to permanent housing and financial stability. Our Family Services reaches thousands of Southern Arizonans through housing, counseling, information and referral, conflict resolution, training, and senior programs each year. Learn more at www.ourfamilyservices.org.
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