YouTube CEO, Google donate $1.35 million to San Francisco nonprofit helping homeless families

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Inspired by one of her daughters to find a solution to homelessness, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, made a sizeable donation Thursday to the nonprofit Hamilton Families.

Google.org also joined in, both providing a $1.35 million donation.

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Even with two incomes, the reality is that families can sometimes end up on the streets.

"People who have been working, minimum wage jobs, are not able to find affordable housing in the Bay Area," explained former CEO of Hamilton Families, Tomiquia Moss.

The nonprofit Hamilton Families has an emergency shelter and helps place families into permanent housing.

That inspired YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki whose daughter was working on a school project on homelessness.

"And as I listened to her questions and her reactions, I realized I didn't have a lot of answers for something that was so important and affects so many families in the Bay Area," revealed Wojcicki.

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The obvious place to come to get the big picture was Hamilton Families.

Last year the nonprofit helped 700 families. According to their records, when they leave Hamilton, 87 percent of families are stabilized after one year of being placed in permanent housing.

So Wojcicki got the information she needed for her daughter and Thursday she and her husband paid it forward-- donating $500,000-- Google.org also gave another $850,000.

"For a total of $1.35 million to boost the work of Hamilton families," announced Wojcicki during a press conference with the Mayor of San Francisco, London Breed.

The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that a chronically homeless person costs taxpayers more than $35,000 a year. But those costs are reduced by 50 percent when they are placed in supportive housing.

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"At the end of the day opportunities like these give us hope. It reminds us that this is not just a moment but a movement," said Brian Stanley, the interim CEO of Hamilton Families.

Hamilton says donations like those help transform outcomes of future generations.

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