3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic Granted $2.5 Million from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez to Connect San Francisco/Bayview-Hunters Point Families Experiencing Homelessness with Stable Housing and Critical Services
40 organizations across the U.S. receive a total of $110.5 million from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund to help end homelessness for families
SAN FRANCISCO – (November 20, 2024) – 3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic (“3rd Street”), a community based nonprofit centered in Bayview-Hunters Point and dedicated to serving young people and families living across San Francisco, announced that it has received a $2.5 million grant from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez through the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund. This donation is the largest gift in the organization’s history. This is the seventh year that the Day 1 Families Fund has awarded grants to organizations across the country that are leading the way to move the needle on family homelessness with the goal of ensuring that no child sleeps outside.
“Every young family has the desire and potential to live a healthy life,” said Joi Jackson-Morgan, 3rd Street’s executive director. “It is impossible for families to work towards a better future without having a safe and stable place to call home. The families we serve possess the resilience to succeed—they just need the opportunities to do so.”
Family homelessness in the U.S. rose dramatically from 2022 to 2023, and families now represent more than 28 percent of the country’s homeless population, according to a 2024 report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. With its one-time Day 1 Families Fund grant, 3rd Street work to reverse this national trend by serving families experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.
Specifically, 3rd Street’s comprehensive housing program will offer vital support to families experiencing homelessness through specialized case management and housing placement services. Their dedicated team helps families navigate the complex housing market, access subsidies and connect with essential services including healthcare, counseling, education and job training opportunities.
A group of national advisors who are leading experts on family homelessness and its solutions, including the intersection of homelessness and housing policy, child welfare, racial equity and service provision, identified the organizations selected for funding.
Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has awarded 248 grants totaling nearly $750 million to organizations serving families in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The grants are uniquely flexible and enable organizations to support families experiencing homelessness—including those who are unsheltered or staying in shelters—to regain safe, stable housing and achieve well-being.
This year, the Fund issued a total of $110.5 million in grants to 40 organizations, and for the first time, nonprofits in Kansas and New Jersey are among the awardees. The other organizations receiving grants in California are: Arcata House Partnership, Catholic Charities CYO of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Homeward Bound of Marin, Hope Solutions, Jenesse Center and My Sister’s House. The full list of awardees is available at bezosdayonefund.org/day1familiesfund.
About 3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic
3rd Street Youth Center & Clinic emerged from a grassroots community initiative in 2005 to ensure that young residents of Bayview-Hunters Point had equal access to healthcare, employment, and educational opportunities. Celebrating 20 years of community impact in 2025, 3rd Street has evolved into one of San Francisco’s leading youth services providers, serving young people and families across the city with a full-service health clinic, mental health and substance abuse counseling, housing services, and a range of youth development programming.
About the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund
Launched in 2018, the Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families experiencing homelessness— including those who are unsheltered or staying in shelters—regain safe, stable housing and achieve well being. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside. For more information, visit BezosDayOneFund.org/Day1FamiliesFund.
Contact
Joi Jackson-Morgan
Executive Director
(415) 822-1707
[email protected]
