The Human Resource Development Council was awarded $5 million from the Bezos Day 1 Families fund, a philanthropic organization started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. The grant is the largest gift the nonprofit has received in its nearly 50-year history.
HRDC’s CEO Heather Grenier says half of the grant will go toward building a family area at the new year-around shelter planned for north Bozeman.
“Kids need a place to do homework and take naps, and young kids take baths, not showers," Grenier said, "and so we have designed a family wing with a separate entrance for our facility that really tailors to meeting the needs of families specifically."
Grenier says with the grant money, the organization is now $1 million away from its $15 million goal to build the Community Commons Campus, which will include a new year-around shelter and food resource center.
She says the other $2.5 million in grant money will fund future programming and case management, as well as transitional housing in hotels and or rental units.
“If they had an actual place to rent but they just didn’t have the deposit and first month's rent it could look like helping them out with deposit and first month's rent to get set up in a new unit,” she said.
Grenier says pairing programming with investments in shelter will be transformational for families in the region experiencing housing instability. But, she says there is still an immediate need to fund shelter operations in Bozeman this winter season.
