Google.org awards $4 million to help address homelessness in Bay Area
Google.org has announced grants totaling $4 million to nonprofits working to prevent homelessness and displacement in the Bay Area, both of which have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
Part of a $50 million commitment to community-based organizations working on the front lines of the region's housing crisis announced by Google.org last year — and in conjunction with a $1 billion pledge by parent company Google in support of affordable housing — the grants will support the efforts of Larkin Street Youth Services, Abode Services, and Sunnyvale Community Services to prevent homelessness among youth, families, and vulnerable communities in the Bay Area. In a blog post announcing the grants, Google.org president Jacquelline Fuller highlighted Larkin Street and Abode Services' "Housing First" approach, which provides the homeless with emergency, short-term, or long-term housing, as well as supports such as food assistance, mental health services, drug rehab services, and job training programs.
"This has been especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic, given the added risk of contracting the virus among people who are on the streets or in homelessness encampments," wrote Fuller.
The grants are in addition to $7.75 million disbursed by the organization since June 2019 to provide mental health care, food, and job-training services to more than thirty-three thousand people and house nine thousand individuals over the next four years.
