Photo by Diane Quinn
Diane Quinn
In 2013, over 5,000 young people in Pima County were regarded as homeless. During the 2016-17 school year, more than 1,600 of those young people were enrolled in Youth On Their Own (YOTO), a program providing support to homeless or abandoned youth who are enrolled in schools throughout the county. YOTO believes that education is critical to breaking the cycle of homelessness and they expect to enroll over 1,000 students in their program by September with still more to come as the school year progresses.
When you live in a traditional family environment you expect to start the school year with new, much needed school supplies. But YOTO students don’t live in traditional family environments. They may be moving from household to household in foster care or with an elderly relative who doesn’t have additional funds to pay for school needs.
With the new school year fast approaching, YOTO’s students are in need of new school supplies. Beginning July 1, The Women of Quail Creek and YOTO are partnering (along with 14 other businesses and organizations) to collect school supplies for YOTO students studying in middle and high schools. Quail Creek Clubhouse is serving as one of two drop-off locations in the southern Pima County area. The most pressing need is for adult-sized backpacks. Other items YOTO is suggesting are Scientific/graphing calculators, Composition notebooks, highlighters, flash drives, colored pencils, markers, index cards, folders, mechanical pencils, $10 or $25 gift cards (to grocery/clothing stores).
Items can be left at the Madera Clubhouse anytime during open hours. Items left for donation will be collected on a regular basis and distributed to YOTO’s offices in Tucson. For further information about this project you may contact [email protected].