Families Together Receives $1.25 Million Bezos Grant

PRESS CONTACT: Jennifer Paul

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Families Together Receives $1.25 Million Bezos Day 1 Families Fund Grant to End Homelessness

Day 1 Families Fund grants $105.9 million to 42 nonprofits helping families gain housing support and stability

RALEIGH, N.C. – (December 9, 2020): Families Together, a community-based organization dedicated solely to ending family homelessness, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, 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.

“A grant of $1.25 million, and the opportunity for transformative impact on the lives of many more Wake County families experiencing homelessness, marks a new day in the 40-year history of Families Together. What an incredible honor for Families Together to be chosen after a national search by the Day 1 Families Fund,” said Lisa Rowe, Executive Director of Families Together.

This one-time grant, awarded to organizations doing meaningful work to connect families with shelter and support, will allow Families Together to address an urgent community need by expanding its family shelter and short-term housing programs and building six to eight permanent homes for homeless families. Combined with a significant increase in housing support services, Families Together anticipates helping 600 additional homeless families over the next five years because of this grant. 

Families Together is one of 42 nonprofits across the U.S. to receive the third annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, as part of a continuing commitment by the Day 1 Families Fund to help end homelessness for families. The Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $105.9 million in grants this year. To select these organizations, the fund worked with an advisory board of homelessness advocates and leaders whose expertise spans housing justice, racial equity, direct services, homelessness policy, equity for Native American communities and anti-poverty work. This year, the grant recipients from around the country include: Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness; The Cathedral Center, Inc.; Catholic Charities of Acadiana; Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention; Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida; Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc.; Congreso de Latinos Unidos; Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio; Denver Indian Family Resource Center; East Los Angeles Women’s Center; East Oakland Community Project; Facing Forward to End Homelessness; Families Together; Family Life Center; Friendship Place; HELP of Southern Nevada; The Homeless Families Foundation; Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System; HOPE Atlanta; House of Ruth; Housing Matters; Housing Up; Kahumana; MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, Inc.; Metro Denver Homeless Initiative; MUST Ministries; The National Center for Children and Families; Native American Youth and Family Center; North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness; One80 Place; Poverello House; Rainbow Services; Refugee Women's Alliance; Safe Haven Family Shelter; Samaritan House; Solid Ground; St. Vincent de Paul CARES; Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence; The Salvation Army Austin Area Command; Time for Change Foundation; United American Indian Involvement, Inc.; and WestCare California.

“The Day 1 Families Fund grant comes at a critical time during our community’s emergency response to the coronavirus pandemic and shines a spotlight on the urgent need for safe, dignified housing as an essential building block for a healthy, thriving child,” said Rowe.

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 Families Together

Families Together is dedicated to moving families in Wake County, North Carolina, from homelessness to home. Founded in 1980, the local nonprofit provides a comprehensive range of housing support services focused on keeping families together and helping them achieve long-term housing success through professional mentoring, connection to community resources, credit counseling and skills workshops to promote self-sufficiency. In response to Wake County’s affordable housing crisis, Families Together launched an initiative in 2019 to create new housing solutions for families experiencing homelessness.