SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – (December 9, 2020): Housing Matters, the largest nonprofit in Santa Cruz County working on solutions to homelessness, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $2.5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, 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.

“We are so honored and excited to receive this grant,” said Phil Kramer, Executive Director at Housing Matters. “This will have a tremendous impact on reducing family homelessness in Santa Cruz County in the coming years.”

This one-time grant, awarded to organizations doing meaningful work to connect families with shelter and support, will allow Housing Matters to serve more families annually, and to better support those families on their pathway to housing.

Housing Matters 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. See a full list here >

“We expect this grant will allow us to build upon an already strong foundation and continue our work toward truly ending family homelessness in Santa Cruz County,” said Diana Flores, Rebele Family Shelter program manager at Housing Matters. “By bolstering the support families receive through our programs, we’ll be able to make progress toward substantial systems changes which will have ripple effects for years to come.”

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.