In May 2016, Youth On Their Own received the GuideStar Platinum rating for its commitment to program impact and overall organizational transparency. This is an upgrade from the Gold rating, which the agency received back in 2014. The GuideStar program is made up of bronze, silver, gold, and platinum participation levels that reward nonprofits [...]
Skyler Azrael has lived in group homes and on Tucson streets for five years since he said his mom kicked him out of the house. Today, he’s 21 years old and spends his days in downtown Tucson. At night, he sleeps where he can. “I just find the most safest spots, where I won’t [...]
Jesus Valenzuela was summoned to the Desert View High School principal’s office at lunchtime Wednesday, and he was somewhat concerned. The 18-year-old senior, a captain on the boys basketball team, was told he needed to tell administrators about his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he was recognized as a Horatio Alger Association National [...]
A group of Arizona mayors is warning of “disastrous” economic consequences in the billions of dollars if the number of Arizona students graduating from high school does not increase from the current one in five, but these 15 city leaders from around the state have committed to do more than sound an alarm. They’re [...]
Youth On Their Own took to Twitter last week urging people to consider donating nonperishable food items to their “Mini-Mall,” which provides teens with basic items like food and clothing items. Jacki Vaughan-Chaldy, YOTO’s College and Career Development Coordinator, said they are seeing more than 30 teens a day visiting their Mini-Mall, looking specifically [...]
It’s not often that a cashier shakes a customer’s hand after a purchase. But this one did. He wasn’t just any cashier, though. He was one of 10 paid interns at the new Youth On Their Own (YOTO) Resale Home Store on North Alvernon Way. The store, which opened last October, is a boutique [...]
“I wish I had like a mother figure,” said Esmeralda Gallardo, a participant in the program. “I kind of feel like it’s more of a separation so I’m kind of like on my own.” Esmeralda has done it on her own, along with more than 1,500 other kids and teens in Pima County. When [...]
“Thirteen students are classified as homeless in the Sahuarita Unified School District. YOTO defines homeless youth as students who, through no fault of their own, lack a parent or long-term legal guardian physically involved in their lives and a stable, permanent nighttime residence. “Homeless doesn’t mean they are sleeping under a bridge and they [...]
Luisa Daniel shared with us how the $2,000 Noah Warren Cohen Scholarship helped her this past semester. “My first semester was amazing…I got all As and one B and I was pretty proud of myself. “Because of this scholarship, I could focus on school rather than on how I was going to pay for school. [...]
To earn his diploma from Sunnyside High School, Edgar Casas, 19, fought for his life. As a high school freshman, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. At the time, he was living in Phoenix with his grandmother and had never been seriously sick before. His schooling ceased when treatments began at Cardon Children’s [...]