ORLANDO, Fla. — St. Vincent de Paul CARES of St. Petersburg and the Orlando-based Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida have landed multi-million-dollar grants from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s Day 1 Families Fund.

St. Vincent de Paul CARES received $5 million, and the Coalition for the Homeless got $2.5 million, according to the Day 1 Families Fund website.

They stand among 42 grant recipients of the Day 1 Families Fund, which says it gives annual leadership awards to organizations and civic groups that do “compassionate, needle-moving work” as they provide food and shelter to families.

They were the only Florida organizations to receive 2020 grants from the Bezos organization. Grants ranged from $450,000 to $5 million.

“I think of it really as a huge testament to the work that our front-line team is doing,” said Meredith Bekemeyer, director of development for the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

St. Vincent de Paul CARES says it’s committed to ending homelessness — “making it rare, brief, and one-time.” It says it serves people in 16 counties, including Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, and Sumter.

An official there couldn’t be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Bekemeyer said the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida would use the money to create a mobile-services unit to help homeless families. She pointed out that homeless families often sleep in places out of view of the organization’s campus near downtown Orlando.

“They might be sleeping in their car in a shopping center parking lot, or somewhere generally speaking where they feel a little safer,” Bekemeyer told Spectrum News late Wednesday. “So, we are actually creating a mobile unit to go out and meet homeless families where they are, and really work to provide resources and referrals — and get them into housing as quickly as possible.”

The grant comes as the Coalition for the Homeless sees an increase in people in need of services because of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Bekemeyer said the organization has taken in 20 families since October 1 who are homeless for the first time.

October 1 marks the day that Gov. Ron DeSantis let the state’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures expire.

Bekemeyer pointed out that federal and local programs remain in place for renters and homeowners through at least the end of the year. That includes a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention moratorium on evictions.

Bekemeyer emphasized the effects of pandemic particularly on Central Florida’s tourism-driven economy. Because of those effects, she said, “we are anticipating a significant increase in homelessness, and especially homeless families.”

She added: “I think the area that we’re located in was definitely a factor in us being selected for the grant as well.”