Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' Day 1 Families Fund has donated $2.5 million each to two Visalia-based nonprofits. Cropped photo by flickr user Daniel Oberhaus, 2019, under a Creative Commons license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced a $5 million donation for a pair of Tulare County nonprofits devoted to helping families in need.

Family Services of Tulare County (FSTC) and Community Services & Employment Training (CSET) are each the recipients of a $2.5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund — representing the largest private gift for both Visalia-based organizations.

It was a quick process to earn this extraordinary gift. CSET Executive Director Mary Escarsega-Fechner said her organization was invited to apply for the grant in early September.

“We were excited to even be on their radar,” Escarsega-Fechner said in an interview Tuesday morning.

Launched in 2018 by Bezos — ranked this year by Forbes as the world’s second wealthiest man with a fortune of $171 billion, the Day 1 Families fund “issues annual leadership awards to leading organizations on the frontlines that are employing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families move from unsheltered homelessness and shelters to permanent housing with the services they require to achieve stability,” according to a news release.

The organizations were selected by a group of national advisors who are leading advocates and experts on homelessness and service provision, according to the release.

Founded in 1983 by citizens seeking to open Tulare County’s first shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence, FSTC plans to use the $2.5 million to build upon a trauma-informed “Housing First” model, which puts a priority on providing permanent housing to those in need. FSTC plans to help provide sustainable housing with case management and connection to services including education, job training, physical and mental health care and more. The grant will also increase its capacity to house and service victims of domestic in its emergency shelter.

“This funding will help us connect the missing pieces of the housing cycle for families in need in our community,” stated Stephanie Burrage, interim CEO of FSTC. “Tulare County has the highest unhoused per capita in California, which has increased since the pandemic. Many families we work with face new challenges due to layoffs, reductions in work hours and loss of housing or childcare. For some, this is the first time they are experiencing basic needs insecurity.”

FSTC Service Navigator Karen Cosio spoke to her experience of working with families experiencing homelessness: “Each person is valuable and has gold inside them if the time is taken to ‘dig deep’ and be there for them. It does not matter what they look like on the outside. Homeless individuals are just like you and me with a different set of life circumstances.”

For 46 years, CSET has waged war on poverty, with plans to use the funds to fight family homelessness by providing housing, social services, skills training and job support.

“CSET has been committed to fighting poverty since 1976,” stated Escarsega-Fechner. “The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund grant significantly increases CSET’s ability to provide homeless individuals and families with safe, affordable housing in addition to comprehensive services and a path towards self-sufficiency.” 

Local Tulare County resident Joey was homeless, relying on local rescue shelters for showers and sometimes sleeping in local parks until he learned about CSET and its twin goals of helping people gain stable employment and housing.

“CSET is here to lift you up with kindness, love and understanding,” stated Joey. “All you got to do is speak up, make the call and do the footwork. Doesn’t matter if you are a man, woman or youngster, there is someone here that understands and cares.”

The local organizations are among 40 U.S. nonprofits receiving a total of $123.45 million this year from the Day 1 Families Fund.

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