UMOM New Day Centers, a provider of services for Arizona families experiencing homelessness, received a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund.

This is the sixth round of annual Day 1 Families Fund grants, which recognize leading organizations doing compassionate work to help families experiencing homelessness secure housing and achieve stability. This grant will build on the $5 million Day 1 Families Fund grant UMOM received in 2018.

“Over the last several years, we’ve seen an increase in families of five or more on the waitlist for emergency shelter. UMOM is taking the lead to reconstruct and build out flexible emergency shelter space that can accommodate larger and/or multigenerational families,” UMOM CEO Jackson Fonder shared in a press release. “Adding this capacity on our existing campus helps us maximize efficiencies and meet the growing need.”

This one-time, flexible grant will support UMOM in serving as a critical lifeline to children and adults in families experiencing homelessness, who represent more than a quarter of the homeless population nationally.

UMOM plans to use its Day 1 Families Fund grant to fund shelter and support programs serving large families, such as individualized case management, workforce development training, job placement support and more.

UMOM 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 six years, the Day 1 Families Fund has provided 208 grants totaling more than $630 million to organizations around the country working on the frontlines to identify unsheltered families, help families regain housing and connect families experiencing homelessness to vital services.

This year, the fund issued a total of $117.55 million in grants to 38 organizations.