EOCP Receives Day 1 Families Fund Grant to End Homelessness

December 9, 2020EOCP Receives Day 1 Families Fund Grant to End Homelessness

East Oakland Community Project Receives $2.5 Million Bezos Day 1 Families Fund Grant to End Homelessness

Day 1 Families Fund grants $105.9 million to 42 nonprofits helping families gain housing support and stability

OAKLAND, Calif. – (December 9, 2020): The East Oakland Community Project (EOCP), a community-based, homelessness services provider in Alameda County, 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 very thankful to have been selected by the Day 1 Families Fund to help stabilize families experiencing homelessness,” said Wendy Jackson, Executive Director of EOCP.

This one-time grant, awarded to organizations doing meaningful work to connect families with shelter and support, will allow EOCP to provide nine months of aftercare support after families have been placed in permanent housing. This helps to ensure that families can stabilize in their new communities.

EOCP 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; The Cathedral Center, Inc.; Catholic Charities of Acadiana; Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention; Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida; Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Scott, Madison, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas County, Inc.; Congreso de Latinos Unidos; Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio; Denver Indian Family Resource Center; East Los Angeles Women’s Center; East Oakland Community Project; Facing Forward to End Homelessness; Families Together; Family Life Center; Friendship Place; HELP of Southern Nevada; The Homeless Families Foundation; Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System; HOPE Atlanta; House of Ruth; Housing Matters; Housing Up; Kahumana; MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, Inc.; Metro Denver Homeless Initiative; MUST Ministries; National Center for Children and Families; Native American Youth and Family Center; North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness; One80 Place; Poverello House; Rainbow Services; Refugee Women’s Alliance; Safe Haven Family Shelter; Samaritan House; Solid Ground; St. Vincent de Paul CARES; Su Casa – Ending Domestic Violence; The Salvation Army Austin Area Command; Time for Change Foundation; United American Indian Involvement, Inc.; and WestCare California.

“The ability for EOCP to provide aftercare support to those families in most critical need cannot be understated. We want families to embrace a future free of homelessness so their children can thrive,” Jackson continued.

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.

Community-based Services