InterIm Community Development Association (InterIm CDA), a nonprofit affordable housing and community development organization based in Seattle’s Chinatown/International District, announced today that it has been selected to receive a $2.5 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund.
“With this support, we can help more low-income and homeless people transition into safe and stable housing,” said Pradeepta Upadhyay, executive director of InterIm CDA. “With a stable foundation, the potential of the communities we serve is limitless.”
This one-time grant, awarded to organizations moving the needle on family homelessness, will allow InterIm CDA to grow its Housing Stability and Homelessness Prevention program, which helps secure stable housing for Seattle’s low-income, Asian and Pacific Islander, immigrant and refugee communities. To ensure these communities have what they need to lead a healthy life, this program also includes wraparound services including financial education, assistance in finding employment and English language services.
Interim CDA is one of 32 nonprofits across the U.S. to receive the second annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, as part of a broad investment by the Day 1 Families Fund to help solve family homelessness. The Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $98.5 million in grants this year. The fund worked with an advisory board of homelessness advocates and experts who identified and invited organizations to submit grant proposals to support their efforts to address homelessness. This year, the grant recipients from around the country include: Bethany House Services, Catholic Charities Eastern Washington, Catholic Social Services Alaska, Coburn Place, Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, Covenant House, Family Gateway, FamilyAid Boston, ForKids, Goodwill Industries of Northern Michigan, Great Lakes Community Action Partnership, Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, HOPE Services Hawaii, HopeWorks, Interim Community Development Association, Lafayette Transitional Housing Center, Mary’s Place Seattle, MIFA, Our Family Services, Pathways of Hope, St. Joseph Center, St. Joseph’s Villa, St. Stephen’s Human Services, St. Vincent de Paul, The Road Home, The Road Home Dane County, The Whole Child, UNITY Of Greater New Orleans, Upward Bound House, Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, West Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness, and YWCA Columbus.
“If you are in need and nobody gives you a hand, you cannot stand up,” said Bill Yeith, a refugee from Sudan who was homeless along with his two children. “InterIm CDA gave me a hand and picked me up from the ground and gave me a home. I am blessed, my children are now safe, and nobody can hurt them because they have home to protect them.”
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.