We are proud to have been selected as a Bezos Day 1 Families Fund leadership award recipient!
The Day 1 Families Fund supports organizations that are moving the needle on family homelessness. We plan to use this generous investment to establish a new hub for families experiencing homelessness that will combine critically needed bridge housing with holistic, integrated programs designed to help families return to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.
Read the full press release below!
St. Joseph Center Receives Bezos Day 1 Families Fund Grant to Help Solve Homelessness
Day 1 Families Fund grants $98.5 million to 32 nonprofits working to help families experiencing homelessness
Venice, CA – (Nov. 21st): St. Joseph Center, a leading provider of services for families and individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund.
“The trauma of homelessness is incredibly harmful to families,” said Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum, President & 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.”
This one-time grant, awarded to organizations moving the needle on family homelessness, will allow St. Joseph Center to establish a hub for families experiencing homelessness that will combine critically needed bridge housing (which families use before transitioning to permanent housing) with holistic, integrated programs designed to help families return to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible.
St. Joseph Center 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.
“Our hope is that these grants will shine a light on and support these organizations that are working hard to provide assistance to and break the cycle of homelessness for families in communities across the country,” said Jeff Bezos. “As experts in their field, we’re empowering these organizations to determine how best to deploy the funds to make a real difference for families in need of support.”
Inga-Rochelle Jones knows firsthand the difference St. Joseph Center makes in people’s lives.
“I became homeless with three of my five children in April 2017. I had been homeless before, but never with my children.” She recalled recently. “St. Joseph Center helped my children and me when we had no other help or human aid.”
With assistance from the Center’s family programs, Inga-Rochelle regained stability and got on the path to self-sufficiency. “I have now been in housing for a year and have increased my income. I am tremendously grateful to St. Joseph Center.”