07-07-2025
Nonprofit helps unsheltered kids achieve their dreams
The Arizona Consolidated State Performance Report for the 2021-22 school year – the most recent available – identified over 6,000 homeless students enrolled in grades nine through 12, though other reports have indicated that homelessness has grown in Maricopa County since then.
Homeless Youth Connection (HYC) aims to keep homeless high school children from falling through the cracks.
HYC's mission is to 'eliminate barriers to graduation for youth experiencing homelessness and create lasting solutions for a successful future through community support and increased awareness.'
It offers a comprehensive services program to high school students ages 13-21 who are experiencing homelessness in Maricopa and Coconino counties.
Recently, Higley Unified School District Governing Board approved a memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit.
HYC also partners with 12 other school districts and two charter school districts, serving around 700 youths per year. In the East Valley, HYC also works with Mesa Public Schools, Tempe Union High School District and Scottsdale Unified.
Co-CEO Dana Bailey said there are a number of common ways and reasons youth might experience housing insecurity or homelessness.
Families may be living in a short-stay motel, with family members, or in a shelter. Bailey said oftentimes those families' homelessness experiences can result from a loss of income or financial insecurity due to unemployment, medical issues, vehicle issues, or a family death.
She said 70% of the youth HYC serves are part of an entire family experiencing homelessness while 30% are unaccompanied, experiencing homelessness without a parent or guardian.
Unaccompanied youth often experience homelessness because they have been kicked out of, or driven away, from their home.
'Even though an entire family may be experiencing homelessness, they've got each other,' Bailey said. 'They can encourage each other and they've got somebody they're in the trenches with. These youth who are on their own, they really are feeling very isolated, alone, guarded, and protective of their space.'
Students who meet the criteria outlined in the federal McKinney-Vento Act are referred by school staff to HYC.
If their household is experiencing homelessness, HYC reaches out to their parents or guardians for consent to provide services. Schools will help provide consent for unaccompanied youth.
Once a student is referred, a youth coach from HYC meets with him or her to review available resources and support. The memorandum of understanding that HYC holds with Higley and the 14 other districts it serves allows the nonprofit's staff to provide services directly on campus, making access seamless for students.
The McKinney-Vento Act defines homelessness as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. The definition includes situations such as sharing housing of others due to loss of housing or economic hardship; living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations; staying in emergency or transitional shelters; and sleeping in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, or other places not meant for regular habitation.
Through HYC, each student receives case management and has access to basic needs like hygiene products, school supplies and clothes.
Instead of handing out old donations of clothing, students are provided with gift cards, allowing them to select new shoes or outfits themselves, which boosts their confidence and teaches them how to budget at the same time.
The Homeless Youth Connection teaches homeless high school students without families basic life skills like cooking.
For youth who need more, the nonprofit can help with medical care, counseling, and even housing. Coaches help connect the students to essential services like AHCCCS health coverage, tutoring, and assist with completing paperwork for scholarships, FAFSA, and other opportunities, ensuring students have the resources they need to stay on track.
'They're recognizing that their life experiences are giving them dreams, but HYC is really helping them to be able to fulfill those,' Bailey said. 'To stabilize so they can finish high school, be able to have the resources, and be able to put the plan in place to be able to work toward fulfilling those dreams.'
Bailey said after the pandemic, HYC continued to see a greater need for more comprehensive services – especially as more young people reached out for counseling services on account of heightened stress and anxiety.
Meeting that growing need for wraparound support also means creating stable living environments where youth can safely learn these skills and focus on schools.
In January, an Arizona Department of Housing grant enabled HYC to secure a permanent home for a transitional housing program.
The building houses 20 youth who live and learn in the home as any adolescent would.
Bailey said a large disadvantage unaccompanied youth face is missing out on life skills that are commonly taught by families, such as money management, hygiene, and cooking.
'You can't really be successful if you're worrying about a place to lay your head, support, case management, removing barriers, or just getting the information you need to progress,' said Michael Lasitte, director of homeless youth services at Native American Connections.
In addition to the transitional living home, HYC runs a host family program.
Carefully screened families open their homes to youth, offering stability and care so teens can focus on school instead of survival.
Many host families build lasting connections with the students they help, often continuing to cheer them on and support them well into adulthood. In one case, a host family's bond grew so strong that they ultimately adopted the student.
By providing housing options and other forms of ongoing support, HYC helps break the cycle of homelessness and gives youth the tools to succeed up to and long after they graduate.
This May alone, 150 HYC students graduated with aspirations to become academics, service members, tradespeople, lawyers, social workers, educators, and more.
One HYC youth planning to go to Grand Canyon University captured this ambition best in a grant application: 'My story is no longer about what I can't do. It's about everything I will do.'
Helping youth graduate and plan their future has ripple effects far beyond individual success.
According to the 2018 Arizona Mayors Education Roundtable report on the economic effects of high school non-completion and disconnected youth, each non-completer represents a nearly $500,000 lifetime loss for Arizona.
'We're really working on providing that safe, stable environment for youth to come in, remove barriers, and learn independent living skills so that they can continue their education,' Lasitte said.
Bailey encourages local businesses, volunteer groups, and individuals to reach out to HYC's community engagement manager to find a volunteer opportunity that fits what they're looking for.
Previously, they've even brought volunteer events to the participating businesses.
Youth groups like school clubs have also contributed to HYC in the past and are welcomed to volunteer. HYC also accepts donations.
Bailey said gift cards are a large need with the back-to-school season approaching, but the nonprofit also is looking forward to the holiday season as it tries give the youth some kind of small celebration for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
'Our kids at HYC aren't that different from the teens that we've raised,' Bailey said. 'They have hopes, they have dreams, they want to do differently than the situation they're currently in. They just need somebody to believe in them'
'We have outstanding outcomes and we have very grateful young people who are appreciative of the support that they've received in our program and they are so proud of themselves.'
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