$2.5M grant from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos awarded to program helping Hawaiʻi youth experiencing homelessness

Residential Youth & Empowerment Services (RYSE), a nonprofit organization that works to equip families and communities to end the cycle of homelessness, today announced that it has received a $2.5 million grant from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos through the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund.

This is the eighth year that the Day 1 Families Fund has awarded grants to organizations across the country that are leading the way to move the needle on family homelessness with the goal of ensuring that no child sleeps outside.  

Family homelessness in the US rose dramatically from 2023 to 2024, and families now represent more than 33% of the country’s homeless population, according to a 2025 report from the National Alliance to End Homelessness. With its one-time Day 1 Families Fund grant, RYSE will work to reverse this national trend by serving youth experiencing homelessness in Hawaiʻi.  

RYSE plans to use its funds to end homelessness in Hawaiʻi by utilizing flexible funding to reach youth where they are, enhance their processes to serve more youth and create new models to match the growing need of youth in the community. 

A group of national advisors who are leading experts on family homelessness and its solutions identified the organizations selected for funding.  

Since 2018, the Day 1 Families Fund has awarded 280 grants totaling nearly $850 million to organizations serving families in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. The grants are uniquely flexible and enable organizations to support families experiencing homelessness—including those who are unsheltered or staying in shelters—to regain safe, stable housing and achieve well-being.  

This year, the Fund issued a total of $102.5 million in grants to 32 organizations from 20 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam. These organizations will receive immediate donations totaling $102.5 million to continue their compassionate, needle-moving work to help families move from unsheltered homelessness and shelters to permanent housing and access services to achieve stability. The full list of awardees is available online at bezosdayonefund.org/day1familiesfund.  

Carla Houser, Executive Director of RYSE, serves as a fierce advocate for children and young adults, with a passion for ending youth homelessness for good. She leads the charge to eradicate youth homelessness by providing a continuum of support and care for Hawaiʻi’s youth.

With over 15 years of experience working with opportunity, houseless, and socially marginalized youth, Houser has an understanding of addressing the unique challenges faced by these young people in need. Prior to founding RYSE in 2018, Houser served as the Program Manager of Youth Outreach! at Waikīkī Health, where she provided a safe haven for homeless youth and ultimately identified the critical need for more shelter and services for young adults.

Houser holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UCLA.

Residential Youth Services and Empowerment, a 501(c)(3) operates an access center where Hawaiʻi’s street youth are assessed and referred to appropriate support services. Youth ages 14-24 have access to a safe temporary living space specifically designed to address their unique needs. The access center offers coordinated programs and services to build a path towards reintegration into mainstream society.

Launched in 2018, the Bezos Day One Fund made a $2 billion commitment to focus on making meaningful and lasting impacts in two areas: funding existing nonprofits that help families experiencing homelessness, and creating a network of new, nonprofit tier-one preschools in low-income communities. The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund issues annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups doing compassionate, needle-moving work to help families experiencing homelessness—including those who are unsheltered or staying in shelters—regain safe, stable housing and achieve well-being. The vision statement comes from the inspiring Mary’s Place in Seattle: no child sleeps outside.