Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness receives $450,000 grant from fund backed by Jeff Bezos

The Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness landed a $450,000 grant from Jeff Bezos’ Day 1 Families Fund to help connect families to homelessness-related services and subsidize housing for families who have recently obtained a home.

The grant was announced Wednesday.

[With funding from Amazon, Catholic Social Services launches effort to end family homelessness in Anchorage]

“Unfortunately, the economic impacts of COVID-19 have been particularly hard on local families, especially those with school-aged children,” coalition executive director Jasmine Boyle said in a written statement. “This grant provides an important infusion of resources at a time when so many are struggling with circumstances they never expected to encounter.”

The coalition will use the money to partner with existing service providers to bolster their resources.

The Day 1 Family Fund was launched by the Amazon founder in 2018 with a $2 billion pledge to help fund nonprofits providing services to homeless families, and to create preschools in low-income areas.

The nonprofit so far this year has given out $106 million.

In 2019, the fund gave Anchorage’s Catholic Social Services a $5 million grant. The local nonprofit pledged to use the money to house 300 families over the next five years.