FrontLine Service Among First to Receive Day 1 Families Fund Grant

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos donate $97.5 million to 24 nonprofits across the U.S. working on family homelessness

CLEVELAND – November 20, 2018: Today, FrontLine Service announced it has been selected to receive $2.5 million from the Day 1 Families Fund to help provide case management, therapeutic and support services to assist families who are homeless.The grant funding will also support FrontLine’s efforts to avoid shelter stays by quickly rehousing and stabilizing families. The funding will be instrumental in reducing the number of families returning to homelessness.“We are deeply grateful to the Day 1 Families Fund for its commitment to end family homelessness and believe that a gift of this magnitude to our community will make a lasting impact on families struggling with homelessness,” said Susan Neth, Executive Director of FrontLine Service. “As a community, we have seen family homelessness continue to rise. With additional resources, we are able to provide a new approach to diverting families from entering shelters and stabilize their housing.”Services will include therapeutic interventions to address the family’s exposure to trauma and mental health-related issues, as well as employment and day care assistance. Increasing these wraparound services will provide an immediate reduction of families to the overflow shelter and family shelter system, freeing up community resources. It will also save children and families the trauma of entering the shelter system.FrontLine Service is one of 24 nonprofits to receive the first Day 1 Families Fund grants, totaling $97.5 million. Recipients from around the country include: Abode Services, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington, Community of Hope, Community Rebuilders, Crossroads Rhode Island, District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), Emerald Development & Economic Network (EDEN) Inc., FrontLine Service, Hamilton Families, Heartland Family Service, Housing Families First, JOIN, LA Family Housing (LAFH), Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS), Primo Center for Women and Children, Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA), SEARCH Homeless Services, Simpson Housing Services, The Salvation Army of Greater Charlotte, The Salvation Army of Greater Houston, UMOM New Day Centers and Urban Resource Institute (URI).Founded by Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, the Bezos Day One Fund consists of two programs: the Day 1 Families Fund that provides grants to nonprofit organizations fighting homelessness, and the Day 1 Academies Fund that will fund and build a network of pre-schools in low-income communities across the country. The Day 1 Families Fund’s vision comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child should sleep outside. A small group of expert advisors provided input to the Bezos Day One Fund team to select these organizations. The Day 1 Families Fund will be awarding grants annually. For more information, visit www.BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund