There are more of them than you think
I will never forget my last year in high school. Not because of the reasons most seniors share, but because I was raising my four younger siblings during that time. When I was 17 years old, I left my mom’s house in Brooklyn and moved to Arizona with my father, so I could finish school. Unfortunately, my father was gunned down a few months after I arrived.
He had a wife and they shared four children (ages 2, 5, 10 and 12 at the time), with whom I spent most of my time with. However, about a year after my father passed away, his wife went to jail. My grandmother lived in Arizona also, so my siblings and I stayed in her apartment for a while; but due to limited space, we had to find other arrangements. I ended up getting an apartment for us in the same complex as my grandmother. I paid the rent with the social security checks we collected from our father’s death, but that was not enough to cover all of the bills. Luckily, one of my teachers knew about my situation and referred me to Youth On Their Own (YOTO).
Overcoming obstacles
YOTO is a non-profit organization located in Tucson, AZ. , that helps kids who live on their own. Its goal is to make sure kids graduate from high school, regardless of their situation. Each month, I received a check for myself and each of my siblings from YOTO to help with our expenses. Don’t think the checks were simply handed to me every month. I had to submit a monthly progress report from school to YOTO, and if my grades were unsatisfactory, I wouldn’t receive any aid for that month.
In addition to aid, YOTO provides kids with other resources. We received clothes, household necessities and even a Christmas tree during the holidays. A counselor/representative would also come to my school once a month just to see how I was coping with everything.
It’s been almost 11 years since I graduated from high school and it is good to see that YOTO is still helping youths. YOTO recently joined Facebook and its page is full of photos of volunteers who help them, and the organizations that donate to them. Its fan page is very engaging. Some of the posts ask former youths to post what they have been doing since graduation. I would like to thank YOTO for all of its help and I hope that now that they are utilizing social media, they can use it as a tool to expand and reach more youths.
Wow, what an amazing personal example of how a non-profit organization directly affected your life in a positive way. It becomes easy to view non-profits as organizations doing abstract things for “other people.” We donate a few bucks and figure something good is happening somewhere to someone.
I’ve always felt one of the most compelling things a non-profit can share are testimonies of people like yourself. Now that YOTO has expanded into social networks, perhaps you could get involved in some sort of consulting role for them. It would be neat to see a blog (though blog might not be the best term) of people who have benefited from YOTO’s programs, kind of a collection of posts like yours. I’m envisioning something similar to what they are asking for on the fanpage, but a bit more expanded than a Facebook post. There’s power in hearing the success of someone who was lifted up and worked hard to overcome difficult circumstances. Like you said, it wasn’t just a handout, but truly a hand up.
Thanks for sharing this.
You are so right, Peter. A blog would be an excellent idea because testimonies do move people the most.
I have been trying to think of an organization I could do the final project on and YOTO never crossed my mind. I could always share my plan with them and maybe help implement it. Thanks!!