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Day 1 Families

Purpose: To ensure families have access to the services and resources they need to end their homelessness and achieve well-being.

What assistance can Day 1 Families provide?

Help Unsheltered Families

  • Quickly identify families living outside, in cars, and other unsheltered locations.
  • Meet families' immediate service and basic needs.
  • Provide unsheltered families immediate access to a safe place to stay.

Divert Homeless Families from Shelter

  • Support families that have lost their housing to find safe alternative places to stay (e.g., with extended family or friends) and avoid entry into shelter or unsheltered settings.
  • Connect families to services and resources in the community.

Shelter Homeless Families

  • Provide high quality, low-barrier shelter that is focused on quickly returning families to housing.
  • Provide short-term services.
  • Support acquisition and/or renovation of property (such as motels) to address gaps in appropriate shelter options for families. No more than 50 percent of grant funds may be used to acquire and/or renovate property.

Re-house Homeless Families Quickly

  • Help families regain housing through housing navigation and move-in assistance.
  • Provide rapid rehousing, shallow rent subsidies, and/or financial assistance so families are supported to quickly exit homelessness.
  • Support acquisition and/or renovation of property that will provide permanent rental housing for formerly homeless families. No more than 50 percent of grant funds may be used to acquire and/or renovate property.
  • Connect families to long-term rental assistance and services such as through permanent supportive housing.

Connect Families to Needed Services

  • Ensure families are linked to services in the community that will help them exit homelessness, stabilize in housing, and achieve well-being.
  • Ensure that families have access to employment, health care, and needed children's services.
  • Help families establish and strengthen their informal support networks.

Advance Equity

  • Support people with lived experience to inform the design of programs and policies that impact their lives.
  • Invest in staff development, staff training, and data to identify and address racial disparities in assistance and program outcomes.