Solo Por Hoy Inc. gets $1M grant to fight homelessness in Puerto Rico
Solo Por Hoy Inc., a nonprofit community-based organization dedicated to serving the most vulnerable populations including homeless families in 24 municipalities of the northern region of Puerto Rico, announced that it has received a $1 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund — the largest private gift in the organization’s history.
Launched in 2018 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, 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.
“No one should have to sleep on the street,” said Belinda Hill, executive director of Solo Por Hoy. “Through our multidisciplinary team we serve approximately 3,000 homeless families every year in hopes of ending the cycle of homelessness by getting families housed.”
This one-time grant will help Solo Por Hoy in its work to support families as they reel from skyrocketing rent costs, limited services, and insufficient incomes.
Solo Por Hoy plans to use the grant funds to develop a specialized service center — which will include an integrated technology center and food and hygiene distribution center — to further the organization’s work to place families in housing and strengthen them on their paths to ending the homeless cycle.
Solo Por Hoy was selected as a Day 1 Families Fund grant recipient by a group of national advisors who are leading advocates and experts on homelessness and service provision. National advisors brought expertise on housing justice, advancing racial equity, and helping programs employ resources effectively to assist families out of homelessness.
Over the past five years, the Day 1 Families Fund has provided 170 grants totaling more than $520 million to organizations around the country working to combat homelessness and help families gain housing support and stability.
