Gates Foundation Pledges $60 Million to Help End Family Homelessness

The Washington Families Fund is launching a new strategy to prevent and end family homelessness.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged $60 Million over 10 years to the public-private partnership.

The major goal of this initiative will be to reduce the number of homeless families by 50% in the next decade.

Read more here in the Seattle Times.
Read the Gates Foundation Press Release.

First Place is excited to see this partnership in light of the increase in homelessness prevention requests through our rental assistance funds. This month in our first hour of taking rental assistance phone calls - we received 60 calls for support. We normally receive about 35 calls a month, and not all in the first hour. First Place can typically only offer assistance to 4 or 5 families a month.