After years of planning and preparation, the nonprofit that serves homeless and near-homeless teens has its own “forever” home.
Last week, Youth On Their Own (YOTO) opened its doors at 2525 N Country Club Rd.
Facilitated by a $750,000 grant from Angel Charity for Children in 2022, the 13,000-square-foot building will provide administrative offices, spaces for youth programming, a Mini Mall for students and room for future expansion.
“We are absolutely thrilled. This is an awesome building with beautiful spaces for youth. The gift from Angel Charity was amazing and we are so grateful. Construction came in at twice the anticipated cost, however, so we still need to raise an extra $300,000 to cover it.
On top of that, we have unprecedented youth engagement. There are 300 more youth enrolled in the program right now than we expected, so we are really hoping for some extra support from the community to help us out,” said Bethany Neumann, Director of Development and Communications for YOTO.
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Neumann said that requests for YOTO services have increased steadily since kids returned to school after COVID closures; currently the program is serving more than 1,500 students each school year.
YOTO provides monthly stipends to encourage regular school attendance for students in grades six through 12 who are experiencing housing insecurity. Its also offers emotional support and assistance with resources for housing, transportation and other needs, including food, hygiene items and other basic necessities from the onsite YOTO Mini Mall.
Judi Davis is a long-time volunteer who serves as a courier, delivering Mini Mall items to schools for students.
“I sometimes joke with people that ‘I bag ‘em and drag ‘em,’ “ said Davis, who is gratified to see the success of YOTO students, who averaged graduation rates of 86 percent in 2023.
“I am just incredibly amazed at the way these students have blossomed because of the help they get from YOTO program coordinators and liaisons at schools. It is so heartwarming to see how they have grown and matured. Education is the key to success for our children and these children don’t have parental guidance and the encouragement and self-confidence that comes with being cared for, but they receive that from YOTO. It really is a family,” Davis said.
