The recipient of this week's Ben's Bell is Ann Young, founder of Youth On Their Own and Learning Incentives for Teens.
She was nominated by Lisa Winton, executive director of the Youth Empowerment Services (Y.E.S.) Network, who recounted the organization's beginnings: "In 1986, Ann Young, then a counselor at Amphitheater High School, knew at least 10 young people at the high school who were living from couch-to-couch and friend-to-friend. At the time there was no agency in Tucson to help these homeless youth. Ann realized that a grass-roots effort to address this problem was needed. She went to local churches, foundations, and the Tucson community for help. The result was the founding of Youth On Their Own - a community-based dropout-prevention program for high school and middle school youth."
Young didn't stop with Youth On Their Own. When she found out the organization's board was cutting services to some of the clients, she started Learning Incentives for Teens to fill the gap. Through LIFT, at-risk students living with a guardian are encouraged to stay in school and graduate. In exchange for each of the 24 students in the program maintaining adequate grades and attendance, they get $120 a month for living expenses.
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Originally, Young invited her homeless students into her own home.
"My husband finally got to a point, he said, 'When are you gonna stop bringing kids home?' "
That's when she approached members of her church congregation for help and Youth On Their Own was started.
"Ann is very inspirational because she really saw a need and she kind of addressed it at a personal level that eventually formed itself into a nonprofit," Winton said. "That's what nonprofits are based on. You recognize a need in your community and you do something about it."
Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
