Stephen was removed by the Department of Child Safety as a minor and resided in a group home, struggling to receive the resources and guidance he needed. During his senior year of high school, Stephen was placed in a University of Arizona transitional program designed to teach life skills and prepare him for adulthood. [...]
Victoria has always felt the burning need to help others, dreaming of serving her country in the military and one day, hopefully attending college. Victoria witnessed her father’s immediate deportation to Mexico while her mother was detained in Tucson. Eventually, her mother was also deported abandoning Victoria and her younger siblings. She found a [...]
As a young person, alone and living on her own since she was 16, Susanna Alvarez-Hadden knew that she liked helping other people. However at this time in her life, she needed support and was being helped by Youth On Their Own. Through the Youth On Their Own program, Susanna was able to complete [...]
When I was 15 years old I found out I was pregnant. I was shocked, scared and just sick to my stomach, no not from the pregnancy but from the thought of having to tell my parents. So I decided to run away. I didn’t know where to go at first but after a [...]
The young girl enters our office. Large, dark eyes dominate her pale face. At 15 years old, Tina has endured sexual abuse, abandonment, hunger, fear and even motherhood! In 6th and 7th grades, she was forced to stay home to care for her eight younger step-siblings. Tina’s latest step-father impregnated her when she was [...]
Robert’s life was full of violence, fighting, alcohol and substance abuse. Robert has been beaten and kicked out of his home; put out on the streets without food or shelter. When Robert applied to Youth On Their Own, he was sleeping in the park at night. He still does not have a permanent home; [...]
Monique comes from an abusive and neglectful home environment. As the oldest child of a neglectful mother, Monique was forced to grow up very fast in order to keep her family together. Monique not only looked after her two younger siblings, but also did all the cooking and cleaning around the house. Sadly, things [...]
In 2017, YOTO was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Anthony Robbins Foundation to provide a minimum of 71 stipends to homeless youth. These stipends are based on several factors such as the timely receipt of progress reports, good attendance per each school’s standards, the number of classes in which a student is enrolled, [...]
There are a number of reasons a student might pass through Bonnie Kneller’s office in Tucson High Magnet School. In the school year that just ended, she said, more than 75 kids found their way there because they were homeless or not living with their parents. As a social worker, Kneller serves around 3,000 [...]