Day 1 Families Fund grants $98.5 million to 32 nonprofits assisting families experiencing homelessness
Nov. 21, 2019
INDIANAPOLIS – Coburn Place, the largest and most comprehensive provider in Indiana of community-based and transitional housing options for survivors of interpersonal abuse, announced today that it has been selected to receive a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. Coburn Place is the first Indianapolis nonprofit to receive this award by the Day 1 Families Fund.
“This is an amazing opportunity for Coburn Place to focus on something it’s been trying to accomplish for quite some time — shorten the wait time that Indianapolis survivors endure to gain access to safe and stable housing,” said Julia Kathary, executive director. “While Coburn Place has grown in the last three years the fact remains that there is not enough affordable housing in Indianapolis that is safe, accessible and sustainable for survivors. This grant from the Day 1 Families Fund will help Coburn Place house more families, but we need the help of the entire community to successfully add to the safe and affordable housing inventory here. This is a really big effort.”
Coburn Place’s waitlists for housing services have been upward of three to five times its capacity, with families often waiting six to 12 months for these vital supports. This one-time grant, awarded to organizations moving the needle on family homelessness, will allow Coburn Place to place more families in permanent, stable housing by creating more inventory through effective partnerships and by potentially developing additional affordable housing units. Coburn Place’s current transitional housing waitlist of 121 families and the coordinated community waitlist of 219 survivors highlights the urgent need to expand its capacity beyond 35 apartments.
Coburn Place 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.
“I have stability for the first time in my adult life,” said Mariah, a Coburn Place program participant. Mariah lost everything when her abusive partner forced her to quit her job, give up her apartment, and isolated her from her family. Mariah found Coburn Place and enrolled in the Community Housing Program, where a wealth of wraparound services led her to self-sufficiency, including a safe place to live, daycare for her 3-year-old son and a full-time job at a dental office.
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.