Tarrant County Homeless Coalition receives $2.5 million grant from Bezos Day 1 Families Fund

NBC 5 News

Tarrant County Homeless Coalition, a nonprofit leading the community solution to homelessness in Tarrant County, announced that it has received a $2.5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund, the largest private gift in the organization’s history.

This is the sixth round of annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, which recognize leading organizations doing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families experiencing homelessness secure housing and achieve stability.

“This gift from Bezos Day 1 Families Fund is transformational for our organization and will have incredible impact on our community,” said Lauren King, executive director of the Homeless Coalition. “This funding comes at a critical time when more families than ever are experiencing homelessness in our community and as we look for more innovative ways to meet those increased needs.”

This one-time, uniquely flexible grant will support the Homeless Coalition in serving as a critical lifeline to children and adults in families experiencing homelessness, who represent more than a quarter of the homeless population nationally.

The Homeless Coalition plans to use its Day 1 Families Fund grant to enhance services available to families experiencing homelessness with increased efforts to end homelessness quickly through diversion, housing location and additional supports to help families return to self-sufficiency, according to the nonprofit.

Tarrant County Homeless Coalition was selected as a Day 1 Families Fund grant recipient by a group of national advisors who are leading advocates and experts on homelessness and service provision.

National advisors brought expertise on housing justice, advancing racial equity and helping programs employ resources effectively to assist families out of homelessness.

Over the past six years, the Day 1 Families Fund has provided 208 grants totaling more than $630 million to organizations around the country.

A selection of more than half of the Day 1 Families Fund grantees who received funding between 2018 through 2021 report that, to date, they have used their grants to divert more than 28,000 families from experiencing homelessness, connect more than 30,000 unsheltered families with safe shelter and help more than 75,000 families access the services they need, according to the organization.

This year, the organization issued a total of $117.55 million in grants to 38 organizations.

The Day 1 Families Fund has now granted this award to organizations in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. New states this year include Arkansas, Vermont and Wyoming.

The full list of awardees is available at bezosdayonefund.org/day1familiesfund.