Youth on Their Own

“The finance committee will review and deliver a recommendation to the board. Any questions that arise from either the committee or the board will be directed to the tax preparer.”

“Organization's conflict of interest policy is monitored and enforced by the governance committee.”

“The organization's officer salary is determined during a board meeting by using the asu lodestar compensation report, the guidestar compensation report and obtaining salary information using 990s from similar sized organizations.”

“Documents are available to the general public on the organization's website or upon request. 990s are published on the guidestar website and on the organzation's website.”

“Youth on their own supports the high school graduation and continued success of youth experiencing homelessness in pima county. Our vision is that young people on their own are empowered and engaged community members. Yoto primarily serves youth in grades 6-12 who attend school in pima county, are unaccompanied students who are not living with their biological or adoptive parents or legal guardians, and are on their own through no choice of their own (forced to leave home). Yoto youth are experiencing homelessness (e.g., couch hopping, living in car, rv, or any place not meant for long-term habitation, etc.) or are self-supporting students who pay for their own housing and must provide all their own basic needs. Yoto's chief focus is education, specifically a high school diploma, as a tool to disrupt the cycle of poverty. Graduation rates for youth experiencing homelessness are extremely low due to the stress of managing their daily circumstances. Over 5,600 homeless k-12 students have been identified in pima county. Without the stability of a home and support of a family, youth experiencing homelessness face unique barriers to education such as the inability to meet school enrollment requirements, high mobility/instability, lack of transportation, poor health, fatigue, and hunger. When these challenges are not addressed, youth are unable to enroll in or attend school, preventing them from obtaining the education that is both their legal right and their best hope for escaping poverty. Yoto participants who graduate high school (yoto alumni) continue to receive basic needs assistance to support their transition into adulthood and self-reliance. Post-high school, yoto supports young adults in planning for career or college and accessing available community-based services.”

“Academic stipend: in fy25, yoto youth participated in the academic stipend at a rate of 89.4%. For youth in the most challenging living situations, such as couch surfing, the academic stipend helped improve their attendance. 76% of yoto youth earned their full academic stipend for attending school 85% or more of the time. Program participant snapshot: yoto served 1,459 students during the 2024-2025 school year, 271 of which graduated high school and received their diploma. The overall yoto high school senior graduation rate for fy25 was 89%. Yoto distributed over 1,173,400 in financial support through 5,935 educational stipends and 301 basic needs stipends (we stopped giving schools youth basic needs stipends in fiscal year 2025). A total of 6,236 basic needs transactions were delivered. Yoto participants rely on yoto services to support them throughout high school: 88% of yoto youth report that yoto program coordinators helped them achieve their goal of high school graduation and 89% of school program survey participants who indicated dropping out of high school report that yoto's support made it possible for them to reenroll in high school and earn their diploma. Yoto alumni rely on guidance to help them navigate post-secondary programs: 78% of yoto seniors who had a post-secondary plan report that yoto helped guide them on their path. Yoto youth demographics: -91% reside within city of tucson limits, 9% in rural areas. -top school districts represented: 31% attend tucson unified school district, 13% sunnyside school district, and 27% attend a charter school. -52% attend traditional school programs, 25% attend alternative or credit recovery programs. -top 5 reasons yoto youth are on their own: (1) 37% toxic and unsafe conflict with parents; (2) 24% poverty, parents could not afford shelter; (3) 22% parental substance use; (4) 20% parental mental health issues; (5) 19% youth did not feel safe living in parents' home. 54% of yoto youth select two or more reasons. -24% of yoto youth work. - 9% of yoto youth have their own children and 13% of yoto youth report being responsible for caring for someone who is not their child, such as siblings. -26% of yoto youth are multi-lingual. -the average age of yoto youth is 18 years old. -81% of yoto youth are bipoc (black, indigenous, people of color). -61% are female identified, 37% are male identified, and 1.4% are gender non-conforming or trans. -24% are lgbtq+.”

“Volunteers help in the following ways: 1. Donation center: greeting donors and guests, recording incoming donations, making phone calls, receiving donations, answering questions, writing thank you notes, and other admin tasks. Weekly four-hour shifts. 2. Mini mall: order fulfillment: help stock food and hygiene items, and help maintain inventory in both the processing room and mini mall area. They also package orders that we receive from students through an online portal. Weekly, four-hour shifts. 3. Caring courier: yoto works closely with 100+ schools in pima county. Caring couriers support our mission by distributing basic needs to students who are unable to visit the mini mall. Availability on wednesdays, proof of current auto insurance and driver's license, and a clean driving record are required. 4. Photographers: take professional photos of youth graduating high school. 5. School liaisons: work to enroll students in yoto and then help students to participate in yoto programs. Ongoing group volunteer opportunities: - snack packs: snacks are divided into groups and packed into small boxes that are then decorated by volunteers. Students can order these through the online portal or grab them at the mini mall. - kit packaging: larger donations such as laundry pods and school supplies are divided into smaller portions by volunteers in order to provide more students with essential items. - menstrual product packaging: feminine hygiene products are sorted by volunteer groups into reusable bags. - note-writing project: year-round, motivational notes are thoughtfully handwritten and decorated by volunteers to inspire our students to keep trying their best. These notes are placed with their orders.”

“The mission of yoto is to support the high school graduation and continued success of youth experiencing homelessness in pima county. Services are designed to help meet youth's basic needs so they can focus less on their housing instability or food insecurity and more on in-school success. Guidance counselors and social workers within 100+ area schools volunteer their time to serve as "yoto liaisons" to identify potential homeless students, help them enroll in yoto, and provide additional support to them throughout the year. Services available to yoto program participants at no cost, include: o academic stipends (up to 350/month) based on level of need and school attendance; flexible stipends (e.g., basic needs funding); graduation awards; scholarships. O basic needs material support (e.g., hygiene supplies, shelf-stable food, school supplies, etc.) via the yoto mini-mall and other personal needs (e.g., dental cleanings, haircut vouchers, etc.). O transportation assistance (e.g., uber health rides and taxi fares). O ongoing academic support, including college and career guidance. O referrals to community partners for housing, healthcare, and other unmet needs. By providing access to financial assistance, basic needs items, and one- on-one guidance, yoto gives youth who are experiencing homelessness the tools and support they need to graduate from high school and reach their goals. Unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness depend on school-based supports (teachers/counselors, tutoring, breakfast/lunch services, etc.) and social networks (friends, coaches, teammates, etc.) for positive emotional support, consistency, and temporary housing connections. Accomplishments in our three largest program service areas include: youth financial assistance: high school students can earn a monthly stipend of up to 350 to incentivize school participation and attendance. Youth in the most unstable situations (those who are living in their car, parenting, etc.) can earn the highest stipend amount of 350. To receive a stipend, students must meet school attendance requirements. In 2024-2025, 1,128,250 was invested in youth academic financial assistance. In addition, youth who were facing eviction or street homelessness earned 38,835 through our direct cash transfers as prevention(dct-p) program. Basic needs: yoto youth are provided access to free basic needs such as food, clothing, hygiene items, and school supplies at the yoto mini-mall. Uber health rides and taxi rides are also provided to eliminate transportation barriers for students attending yoto workshops, school, and work. In 2024-2025, yoto youth visited the on-site mini mall 3,005 times and yoto distributed 179,643 basic needs items to program participants. In addition, yoto distributed, 174 cap and gown stipends, 32 dental services through a partnership with martin taylor dentistry, 112 haircut vouchers, 22 new home kits through a partnership with viva pima, 177 uber and taxi rides, 19 donated bikes through el tour de tucson and 39 laptops. Ongoing partnerships in fy25 enabled yoto to provide 11 gender affirming products to trans yoto youth (partnership with validusa), 798 fresh meal kits (partnership with the tucson family food project), 2,056 1-gallon bags of pet food (partnership with cody's friends), and 1,987 pairs of socks (partnership with bombas). Guidance: because yoto youth are on their own, they often lack the support and guidance that comes from a caring parent. Yoto provides one-on-one guidance, encouragement, college and career assistance, and connections to other services in the community. In addition, yoto serves as an advocate for young people when they need support navigating services and systems. Yoto's schools program coordinators are vital to youth engagement in services and helping students stay in school. Alumni program coordinators provide workshops to support youth's post-secondary plans. In fy25, 62 youth participated in a fafsa workshop, 20 youth attended”

“Change in beneficial interest 440,375”