Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, announced the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund will donate a cumulative $5 million five-year grant to two Oklahoma homeless relief nonprofits for its eighth annual leadership awards.
Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, donated a total of $102.5 million to 32 recipients across 20 states, including two nonprofits in Oklahoma: City Care and City Rescue Mission.
Skyler Parker, vice president of client services for City Rescue Mission, told OU Daily Tuesday that receiving the grant donation from the fund was an honor.
“Only about 32 organizations nationwide received this grant, so it’s a very big deal for us to receive this,” Parker said. “We’re very thankful, and we consider it an honor and privilege that the Jeff Bezos Day One Fund would consider us based on what we’re doing.”
City Rescue Mission is an organization that houses individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Oklahoma City and surrounding areas.
The nonprofit offers a 6-to-10-month faith-based recovery program that aids in issues ranging from domestic violence to substance abuse. It also offers an employment readiness program where individuals work in the shelter and recovery areas in exchange for a stipend.
City Rescue Mission is the largest family shelter in the state. According to Parker, the shelter offers 53 family rooms and averages around 320 clients per night, including around 110-120 children. Parker said the shelter housed about 805 people last year.
“We know that they’re going to have to solve their homelessness, and so we just are there to walk alongside them,” Parker said. “We value them as humans and we want (to) just be able to provide further for themselves.”
Parker said the grant will go toward expansion, outreach and partnership with other service providers and family-assistance organizations.
“These funds are going to be able to help us move past the shelter and out into the community to help those that are becoming homeless, so that the kids and those families don’t have to sleep in their car, they don’t have to sleep in a tent,” Parker said. “We’re going to try and work on ways to meet them immediately when that happens.”
City Care offers homeless services and supportive housing in Oklahoma City and Norman. The organization offers a place for pets, separate rooms for families and storage space for people staying long-term.
On Jan. 15, City Care took over Norman’s overnight emergency shelter, A Friend’s House. Rachel Freeman, chief executive officer of City Care, expressed this expansion will aid in housing expansion and ensure everyone has a place to stay.
Kori Hall, City Care chief programs officer, said the organization was excited to receive the grant, which she said will help provide for the services and families within their program.
“Family homelessness is on the rise in Oklahoma and across the nation, and so to be able to have these resources specifically to serve families is going to meet the need that we’ve been encountering. So we’re very excited for that,” Hall said.
City Care was founded in 1996 by a group of friends who were serving pancake breakfast to those displaced from the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Since then, City Care has offered housing services and expanded in 2020 to offer homelessness services.
“We believe everyone has inherent dignity and everyone deserves a safe place to sleep at night, so that’s how you will see us operate in the city of Norman,” Rachel Freeman, chief executive officer of City Care, told the Daily on Jan. 16.
Hall said City Care prioritizes need-based services and the organization hopes to use the grant to offer rapid housing navigation for families experiencing homelessness.
“We are activists for the overlooked. It’s a high value of our organization to find the unmet needs in our community and to find ways to fill those needs,” Hall said.
This story was edited by Thomas Pablo, Ana Barboza and Natalie Armour. Tori Pham and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
