Google gives $1M for Seattle Salvation Army homeless shelter

Google is putting $1 million toward the homelessness crisis in Seattle. The Salvation Army says its the largest donation the charity has ever received from a tech company.

Seattle homeless families left with few options for housing

“The Salvation Army provides critical support, including housing and direct services, for our homeless community members most in need,” said Adrian Schurr, Giving Manager for Google.org. “They are on the front lines helping alleviate homelessness at scale and Google.org is committed to continuing to support organizations like The Salvation Army in that effort. Google has called Seattle home for 13 years and we cannot wait to see the construction start on what will be an impactful effort right here in our community.”

The Salvation Army’s Seattle branch received a $1 million grant from the tech company. The money is slated for the William Booth Center, which is a homeless shelter for men in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood. It specializes in helping homeless veterans. It provides shelter, case management, and transitional housing services.

Residents at the center can stay for up to two years. It has 190 beds (about 22 percent of the total shelter capacity the Salvation Army has in Seattle). The Salvation Army notes that in 2018, 156 of the center’s residents moved on to permanent housing.

“The gift from Google will make significant impact on the lives of people served at the William Booth Center in Seattle,” said Lt. Colonel Bill Dickinson, Divisional Commander for The Salvation Army in the Northwest. “As the need for homeless services in our community increases, The Salvation Army is committed to being part of the solution for these neighbors.”

Seattle’s latest numbers: more people moved out of homelessness

While Google is based in Mountain View, Calif. it has offices in Seattle’s South Lake Union tech hub. It recently opened the first part of it’s new five-building campus, which adds 600,000 square feet of office space, GeekWire reports. The Google campus is across the street from Amazon’s headquarters. The company has further plans to expand and open more new office space in the months ahead.

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