Harris County and Houston homeless initiatives win $5M grant from a Jeff Bezos fund

The Coalition for the Homeless in Houston and Harris County announced Tuesday it had won a $5 million grant from a fund launched by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. The Day 1 Families Fund is meant to help groups providing shelter and hunger support to young families. Since 2018, the fund has issued more than $520 million in awards, according to its website. The Coalition for the Homeless in Houston and Harris County is the lead agency that coordinates organizations working to address homelessness through the region, which has received nationwide attention for reducing its homeless count by 64 percent this January since January of 2011.

The Day 1 Families Fund money follows a $10 million award meant to address youth homelessness from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Similarly to how the Coalition has distributed those funds, its plans for the Day 1 Families funds involves distributing the $5 million to local organizations that provide services to the demographic specified by the grant -- in this case, families. First, the Coalition will pull together data about families experiencing homelessness and meet with its steering committee to discuss how the funds can be used to further the organization's five-year plan. Then it will meet with partners and others to see if money can be used in conjunction with other sources of funds, before asking its members to submit proposals and deciding how to distribute the grant money. The money has to be spent within five years, according to the Coalition. Michael C. Nichols, chief executive of the coalition, said he was "thrilled" about the new grant. He added that the grant is especially timely because advocates are worried that current economic and policy developments -- such as the increase in housing prices and the wind down of rent relief funding -- could result in more families losing their housing.