Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Establishes Healthy Families Program with $40 Million Grant

SEATTLE -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has committed $40 million to establish the Healthy Families Program, an initiative to develop new transitional housing facilities and expand support services for homeless women with children, or women and children in danger of becoming homeless in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

One of the goals of the Healthy Families Program is to work with other partners to create more than 1,500 additional transitional housing units in the next three years and to provide social support services for five years following construction completion.

The program will be administered through a partnership among the Foundation, the city of Seattle, King County, Pierce County and Snohomish County and the state of Washington. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation support will fund approximately 15-20 percent of the capital and initial service costs of each project, with additional funding coming from the program partners and other sources.

A steering committee comprised of experts from these areas will set policies on funding decisions and the operation of the program. The University of Washington School of Social Work will evaluate the success of the initiative and the effects that it has on stabilizing families in crisis.

"The harm being done to children and families that are unable to find adequate housing and support services is tragic. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants to address this critical need and ensure that families in crisis have the opportunity to reestablish their independence and well being," said Bill Gates, Sr., Co-Chair & CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

For the past year, the Foundation has been working with the University of Washington School of Social Work (depts.washington.edu/sswweb) and the city of Seattle to examine ways to combine housing and services to support families during periods of crisis. 

"The Healthy Families Program hopes to help homeless families in a number of ways, beyond just putting a roof over their heads," said Nancy Hooyman, dean of the University of Washington School of Social Work. "Through our research, we discovered that housing alone may be insufficient, and supportive services, such as childcare, job training, domestic violence counseling, and other case management, along with appropriate housing can keep families together, and make a lasting difference in their lives."

The UW research led to discussions with the city of Seattle about its housing and homeless programs, and about the concept of regional collaboration.  For further information, visit the University of Washington School of Social Work website.

Estimates provided by Seattle's Office of Housing project (www.ci.seattle.wa.us/housing/default.htm) that the Foundation's support will allow the City and the three counties to double the number of family transitional housing units over the next three years. The Office indicated that approximately 24,800 families in the same Puget Sound region had been turned away from shelter in the last reported year (includes some duplicate count).

For the next three years, nonprofit organizations in the tri-county area will be asked to respond twice a year to Request for Proposals (RFP) that will encourage a team approach to support both service delivery and housing production.

Organizational criteria to apply will be based on recommendations of a steering committee organized this summer, and the initial RFP is expected to be issued mid-September.

The Healthy Families Program also requires a significant financial commitment from the public jurisdictions and other funding sources. City and county agencies will be asked to provide a share of the operation and/or capital funds for the transitional housing units, as well as cover the administrative costs of agency staff working on this effort.

Projects selected for funding will execute long-term agreements with the program that specify eligibility requirements for residents, maximum rent levels and provisions for proper maintenance.

The $40 million grant from the Foundation is a one-time gift; the program is designed to sustain itself beyond the Foundation's support over five years. The Healthy Families Program offices will be staffed and housed by the City of Seattle.