MINNEAPOLIS — You've probably heard by now, the richest man in the world awarded $5 million to a Minneapolis non-profit that helps homeless families find permanent housing.
St. Stephens Human Services received part of Jeff Bezos's $98 billion-dollar Day 1 Fund. Annie Wells is the director of family programs at St. Stephen's Human Services.
"It is going to help our families grow pretty significantly. We will be able to serve more families experiencing homelessness," Annie Wells said. "We are going to increase our short-term housing program where we work with families that have moderate level of barriers and vulnerability and we help them find housing and provide them with case management and rental assistance to stabilize in their new homes."
Wells and the team at St. Stephens are now in a better position to make dreams a reality. The non-profit has a number of programs for families in Hennepin County which includes a long-term supportive housing program for families, a housing program that provides short-term case management services to families while they are currently residing in shelter and a short-term housing program for families who are experiencing homelessness to increase overall well-being and housing stability.
The fund will award nearly 98 million in grants to 34 organizations across the country fighting homelessness.
Last year another Twin Cities non-profit, Simpson Housing Services, received $2.5 million from Bezos' fund. The endeavor, which launched in 2018, focused on establishing "a network of new, non-profit, tier-one preschools" in low-income communities and funding existing nonprofits that provide homeless services like the work done at the Simpson Housing services.
Wells said the donation doesn't eliminate challenges.
"It is always a challenge to make sure we are using it in the best way possible to serve the families that are most disproportionately affected by homelessness," Wells said. "Last fiscal year we served 611 families. That included 800 adults and 1400 children. We also want to make sure people know that this doesn't mean that we don't need fundraising support. We want everyone to have a home and especially our young children."