The funding also will strengthen solutions and reduce the number of families that are couch-surfing or doubled up

Council for the Homeless has been awarded a $5 million competitive grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. The funding will help Council for the Homeless and its partners end literal family homelessness (families living in a car, shelter or outside.) The funding also will strengthen solutions and reduce the number of families that are couch-surfing or doubled up — the definition under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, which ensures support for students without a permanent home.

“This is an opportunity to invest deeply in our community,” stated Sesany Fennie-Jones, executive director of Council for the Homeless. “No family should be without a safe and regular place to call home. The Day 1 Families Fund is providing an essential tool that will help CFTH and partners make a significant difference in the lives of local families and in system coordination of service delivery.”

As of November 2023, there were 194 families in Clark County living in emergency shelters, cars or outside, which is the definition of literal homelessness. It is not uncommon for parents to live outside or in a car, and for their children to double up with family or friends. The work of the grant will help reunite these families. In 2022, there were nearly 3,000 students doubled up or couch-surfing.

The funding will support collaborative efforts of community partners, working together in a coordinated manner to help families end their homelessness.

Goals of the five-year grant fulfillment include:

• Implementing a Family By-Name List of each family experiencing homelessness under either definition to identify and understand each family’s needs.
• Collaborating with school districts, social service agencies and other partners to bring housing resources and wraparound services to each family.
• Partnering with agencies that serve families of color, the population most vulnerable to homelessness.
• Identifying and expanding housing opportunities.
• Ending literal family homelessness and reducing McKinney-Vento Act family homelessness over five years.

“Our next step,” Fennie-Jones said, “is to connect with partners and make plans to steward these funds for the greatest impact on family homelessness in Clark County.”

About the Day 1 Families Fund:

Launched in 2018, the Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families experiencing homelessness — including those who are unsheltered or staying in shelters — regain safe, stable housing, and achieve well-being. 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 Council for the Homeless:

Council for the Homeless (CFTH) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness in Clark County, WA., by providing community leadership, compelling advocacy and practical solutions to solve homelessness on an individual and community level. Founded in 1989, CFTH serves as the lead agency and coordinated entry for delivery of homeless services through the Continuum of Care for Homeless Services in Clark County, Wash.