One80 Place Receives $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

CHARLESTON, S.C. – (December 9, 2020): One80 Place, which is committed to ending and preventing homelessness in South Carolina, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $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.

“This grant from the Day 1 Families Fund is transformational in the truest sense of the word. This gift will change how One80 Place ends and prevents homelessness for families, particularly young families who face so many challenges in finding and maintaining a permanent place to live,” said Stacey Denaux, CEO of One80 Place.

This one-time grant, awarded to organizations doing meaningful work to connect families with shelter and support, will allow One80 Place to grow its field operations to rehouse families directly from the street, provide children with better educational supports and offer a new nightly shelter for those who need it.

One80 Place 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, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, 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; The 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.

Further emphasizing the significance of this grant, Denaux continued, “From providing nightly shelter to supporting families once they have ended their homelessness, this Day 1 Families Fund grant will truly change lives. One80 Place is proud to be among so many other organizations working across the country to end homelessness.”

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.

 About One80 Place
One80 Place ends and prevents homelessness. With offices in Charleston and Columbia, the organization serves more than 1,300 individuals annually across the state of South Carolina. One80 Place has operated since 1984, first, with a shelter and community kitchen, and now, with expanded services including legal services, on-site healthcare, employment resources and—most important—housing counseling and rehousing supports. To learn more about One80 Place, visit one80place.org.