Day 1 Families Fund grants $96.2 million to 32 nonprofits across the country to provide shelter for children and families in need

ARLINGTON, Va. – (November 17, 2021): Doorways, a community-based nonprofit providing shelter and services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as youth and families experiencing homelessness, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $2.5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund—the largest private grant in Doorways’ history. Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder and executive chair 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.

“Thanks to the Day 1 Families Fund, Doorways is ready to launch our next chapter by implementing innovative and cutting-edge practices, from shelter to housing stability. We are especially committed to continuing our efforts to remove barriers that prevent historically marginalized communities of color, immigrants and people with disabilities from accessing services and getting housed quickly,” said Diana Ortiz, President and CEO of Doorways. “By increasing our capacity and adding more doorways into housing and our comprehensive wraparound services, our youngest clients and their parents will overcome the trauma of family homelessness and gender-based violence.”

This one-time grant will allow Doorways to increase its capacity to provide high-quality, low-barrier shelter to families and double the number of families they transition to housing. This grant coincides with Doorways’ current strategic initiative to determine the ideal model for sheltering families with complex needs, including survivors of domestic violence. This grant will help Doorways bring this vision to life. Doorways was selected as a Day 1 Families Fund grant recipient by an independent advisory board comprised of homelessness experts with experience in policy, advocacy, racial equity, child welfare and housing and service delivery, as well as firsthand experience in homelessness.

This year, the Day 1 Families Fund issued a total of $96.2 million in grants to 32 organizations across the country. The 2021 Day 1 Families Fund grant recipients are: ACLAMO; Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches; Alabama Rural Coalition for the Homeless, Inc.; All Chicago Making Homelessness History; AACI (Asian Americans for Community Involvement); Building Changes and Africatown International; Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa; Colorado Coalition for the Homeless; Covenant House Alaska; Destination: Home; Doorways; Family Life Center; Family Service League; Friends of the Family; Homeless Action Network of Detroit; Homeward; LifeMoves; Lubbock Open Door; Mesilla Valley Community of Hope; Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter & Services; Mississippi United to End Homelessness; Newcap, Inc.; Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance (OCAPICA); Portland Homeless Family Solutions; Project Community Connections, Inc.; Rural Alaska Community Action Program (RurAL CAP); Sacramento Steps Forward; SHELTER, Inc.; Texas Homeless Network; The Link; TriCounty Community Action Agency, Inc.; and Union Station Homeless Services.

“In one of my darkest years, Doorways has been the light that kept me going when I felt like I had no more energy to fight for myself and my children,” said a client of Doorways. “Thank you to the donors and to all the staff that have been supporting and taking care of us during this pandemic.” 

The Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing non-profits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, non-profit 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. Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has issued 130 grants totaling more than $398 million to organizations around the country working to combat homelessness and help families gain housing support and stability. 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 Doorways

Doorways creates pathways out of homelessness, domestic violence, and sexual assault, empowering clients to achieve safe and stable lives. Doorways’ trauma-informed approach addresses the cycles of abuse, homelessness, and poverty in a proactive and nimble way, meeting clients where they are and providing tailored support toward long-term stability. Doorways partners with clients to break cycles of abuse, homelessness, and poverty in a proactive and client-centered way, empowering healing journeys that enable long-term stability. To learn more and join Doorways today, visit www.doorwaysva.org. 

Doorways opened its very own little library to ensure families have a variety of books at “home,” even while they are living in a shelter. Research shows many positive impacts of growing up with books at home and being read to as a child, including a million-word boost in vocabulary by kindergarten. Beyond that, books can open entire worlds to their readers.

The library is part of Doorways’ ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. Its curated collection features diverse characters, perspectives, and experiences to empower children to see themselves in stories, as well as those who are different, to help them build confidence, empathy, and understanding. Current titles include The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, Skin Like Mine by LaTashia M. Perry, and The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo, plus more.

“Our multilingual collection of books was carefully selected to share characters and stories from all over the world. These books are a representation of our community and our deepest desire for all of our clients and neighbors to feel welcome and belonging,” said Doorways’ President and CEO Diana Ortiz. “This little library allows each of us to see ourselves in beautiful stories and inspires us to see the courage and bravery of our own narratives.” 

Doorways celebrated the library’s official opening with a small gathering of supporters, including its founding sponsor Zarina Ram, architect Jim MacGregor, and artist Alina Sagatov. 

“In all of creation we were given this unique gift and power,” said Ram. “The power of language and words give us the ability to inspire, to create, to connect. My wish is that this little library will give women and children who have survived oppression a chance to experience empathy by walking in another’s shoes through the books they read; an escape to a world beyond that which they know, which will inspire them to dream bigger than they could’ve ever imagined; and a platform to create a future that enables them to realize their deepest desires and passions so they, too, can one day say they were able to live their best possible life to the fullest because they were not alone, felt connected, and could put words to what they already know inside – finding courage and empathy to express and manifest that which is within through the words and journey of another.”

Doorways is a community-based nonprofit providing shelter, supportive housing, and services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as youth and families experiencing homelessness. Learn more and get involved at www.doorwaysva.org/donate.