A prominent homelessness nonprofit in North County is getting millions of dollars for its new family shelter just months after local leaders pulled funding from a different facility.
The $5 million grant through Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ charitable fund will go to Interfaith Community Services.
“We are truly honored,” Greg Anglea, the nonprofit’s CEO, said in a statement that also asked other donors to step up and “end family homelessness in North County.”
In August, Escondido council members stopped supporting Haven House, the city’s only all-purpose homeless shelter, reportedly over concerns that it was housing too many people from other communities.
Interfaith was already running low on pandemic-era relief funds and has recently scrambled to help dozens of migrants in Oceanside who were dropped off by the Border Patrol, forcing the group to face tough questions about how it would continue financing some programs.
In the short-term, Interfaith moved people from Haven House to the nearby Abraham & Lillian Turk Recuperative Care Center, which is for homeless individuals who’ve just left a hospital. The CEO previously said the shift would save money and improve people’s access to services while acknowledging that it was “not a forever solution.”
The Bezos grant will only be used for Interfaith’s family programs, but it could ease pressure on the nonprofit when it fundraises for other initiatives.
The family facility opened last month in Escondido. It currently houses 21 people, with several more expected this week, according to spokesperson Logan Goverman.
The $5 million should sustain that shelter for several years, Goverman said. The money will also help pay some clients’ rent and be used to hire two staffers: one to reach out to landlords and another to assist people who’ve just lost a place to stay, a group that can be easier to reach than those who’ve spent years in encampments.
The nonprofit had more than $30 million in revenue in 2021, which more than covered that year’s expenses, according to the most recent tax records available.
Five years ago, Bezos pledged $2 billion to open preschools in low-income neighborhoods and bolster nonprofits that specifically helped homeless families.
The Bezos Day One Fund has since announced support for dozens of organizations around the country. There were nearly 40 recipients this year, including three others in California: Abode Services in Fremont, Community Action Partnership of Kern in Bakersfield and the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority in Ukiah.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
