Several nonprofit groups around the D.C. area found out this month they’re getting millions of dollars to help fight homelessness around the region. In some cases, the money was a bit of a surprise.
In all, the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund donated varying amounts of money to 32 different nonprofits nationwide that work in 20 states, plus D.C. and Guam. But the D.C. area and its nonprofit networks were well-represented on the list of grant awardees.
“We didn’t expect to get it because it’s not something that you apply for. It’s something that you’re chosen for,” said Tim Jansen, the CEO of Community Crisis Services Inc., which was awarded $5 million to spend over the next five years. “So, we were chosen, we submitted a grant application and we received the award.”
“It’s by far the largest gift we’ve ever received, and it will really make a dent in the work that we’re looking to do to house folks,” he added.
D.C.-based Friendship Place got a $2.5 million grant for the next five years, just as it wraps up the funding it got from its first Bezos Day 1 Families Fund grant five years ago.
“We built an initiative to help families in homelessness, and it’s truly been a milestone for us to be able to reach out to these families who otherwise are not eligible for other programs,” Jean-Michel Giraud said.
“This grant is an opportunity to keep the door open, to find ways to say yes,” he added. “We are blending job placement with housing in this case. We’re adding other forms of assistance that are essential for the families to rebuild.”
Jansen said his group is looking to use the money to help families with physical or intellectual disabilities, as well as really large families that are struggling. The money could also help his group purchase more properties that could be used to house those people.
“It is designed to create an opportunity for you to really think out of the box, for you to get creative with housing, and for you to really significantly make a footprint on housing homeless people,” Jansen said.
“Homelessness is an ever-evolving phenomenon, and you need to position your resources the best way every year,” said Giraud, whose group is based in D.C. but also helps people in other parts of the region, too.
He said when he began there 19 years ago, they helped about 450 people. Now, they’re more than 10 times that number.
“We have tasked ourselves with really diversifying our programming in a very effective way, with job placement, with rapid rehousing prevention, and, of course, permanent housing,” Giraud said. “And so, it does draw people to Friendship Place, because people know in town that if you’re not finding the help you need with another organization, you try Friendship Place.”
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