The East Los Angeles Women's Center is honored to have been selected as a 2020 Bezos Day 1 Families Fund award recipient! The Day 1 Families Fund supports organizations that are making measurable progress on family homelessness, and we are excited to be included among them. We plan to use this generous investment to prevent homelessness; help unsheltered families reach safety; provide temporary and transitional housing, and provide families with a path to permanent housing. We thank the Day 1 Families Fund for their support and look forward to continuing to serve and provide stability for families in our community, especially as we all recover from the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This grant is truly a transformational opportunity for ELAWC’s housing programs,” said Barbara Kappos, ELAWC Executive Director. “We are deeply honored to be among those selected and it comes at a critical point in the pandemic. Every day we see increasing homelessness, domestic violence and economic hardships in Los Angeles County. With this investment, we will serve many more at-risk and homeless families with children and create real pathways to permanent homes.”

ELAWC 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, Anchorage, AK 
The Cathedral Center, Inc., Milwaukee, WI 
Catholic Charities of Acadiana, Lafayette, LA 
Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention, Indianapolis, IN 
Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 
Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, Columbus, OH 
Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc., Lexington, KY 
Congreso de Latinos Unidos, Philadelphia, PA 
Denver Indian Family Resource Center, Denver, CO 
East Los Angeles Women’s Center, Los Angeles, CA 
East Oakland Community Project, Oakland, CA 
Facing Forward to End Homelessness, Chicago, IL
Families Together, Raleigh, NC 
Family Life Center, Kahului, HI 
Friendship Place, Washington, DC 
HELP of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
The Homeless Families Foundation, Columbus, OH
Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System, Los Angeles, CA 
HOPE Atlanta, Atlanta, GA
House of Ruth, Washington, DC
Housing Matters, Santa Cruz, CA
Housing Up, Washington, DC
Kahumana, Waianae, HI
MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, Inc., Detroit Lakes, MN
Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, Denver, CO
MUST Ministries, Marietta, GA
The National Center for Children and Families, Bethesda, MD
Native American Youth and Family Center, Portland, OR
North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness, Raleigh, NC
One80 Place, Charleston, SC
Poverello House, Fresno, CA
Rainbow Services, San Pedro, CA
Refugee Women's Alliance, Seattle, WA
Safe Haven Family Shelter, Nashville, TN
The Salvation Army Austin Area Command, Austin, TX
Samaritan House, Virginia Beach, VA
Solid Ground, White Bear Lake, MN
St. Vincent de Paul CARES, St. Petersburg, FL
Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence, Long Beach, CA
Time for Change Foundation, San Bernardino, CA
United American Indian Involvement, Inc., Los Angeles, CA
WestCare California, Fresno, CA

The Bezos Day 1 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

Full Press Release HERE