ACLAMO, a full social service nonprofit organization that has provided creative housing solutions for Latino and other underserved communities for 44 years with the vision to build a stronger community one child and one family at a time, today announced that it has been selected to receive a $1.25 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund—the largest private grant in ACLAMO’s 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.

“On behalf of ACLAMO’s leadership, staff and Board of Directors, we are delighted to have been chosen to carry out these responsibilities to provide support services to families and children who are experiencing homelessness,” said Nelly Jimenez, ACLAMO’s Executive Director. “ACLAMO is recognized as a leading organization for housing and social services at the local, state and now national level. We are humbled and excited to receive this award.”

This one-time grant will allow ACLAMO to address racial disparities by providing equitable access to housing resources. Funds received will support ACLAMO’s existing bilingual and bicultural Housing Program initiatives in diverting families with small children from entering shelter or becoming unsheltered; identifying and reaching unsheltered families and connecting them to safety; re-housing families experiencing homelessness; providing high quality, low-barrier shelter through case management services; and connecting families to critical wraparound services.

ACLAMO 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.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. You are doing wonderful and great things,” a client who received rental and utility assistance wrote to ACLAMO. “Words cannot express my gratitude, but know that this burden has been lifted off of my shoulders. You all will be truly blessed in helping those in need.”

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