Jeff Bezos, executive chairman of Amazon, and Lauren Sánchez, an American media personality, donated $2.5 million through the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County.
The Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County is a nonprofit organization that coordinates homelessness-related services and housing options for Cook County outside of Chicago. That includes 130 suburbs, or approximately 2.5 million people.
The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund issues annual awards to organizations doing work to help families experiencing homelessness. According to its website, nearly $750 million has been donated since 2018. In 2024, $110.5 million has been donated to 40 groups. The goal of the fund, according to an Alliance news release, is to ensure that no child sleeps outside.
“With the support of the Day 1 Families Fund, we and our partners will be better positioned to connect families to the housing and supports they need to end their housing crisis and give their children every chance to thrive,” Jennifer Hill, executive director of the Alliance, said in the release.
A group of experts on family homelessness and its solutions help choose the organizations selected for funding, according to the Alliance news release.
According to the news release, family homelessness rose from 2022 to 2023 in the United States. And families represent more than 28% of the country’s unhoused population, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ 2024 report.
“With its one-time Day 1 Families Fund grant, the Alliance will work to reverse this national trend by serving families experiencing homelessness in suburban Cook County,” according to the release.
The Alliance plans to use the grant dollars for innovative housing solutions for families experiencing either unsheltered or sheltered homelessness through street outreach, emergency shelter, flexible rental assistance and other services.
“I am honored to share in this work of supporting unhoused families and children,” Monique Williams, a board member of the Alliance, said in the release. “Having personally experienced the challenges of homelessness, I understand the depth and profound impact this funding will have on families at a time when housing affordability continues to be a critical issue in our community.”