As the world gears up for the Summer Olympics, local roofers and builders invite the public to join in as they prepare to βGo for the Gold for YOTOβ with a charity bowling tournament to benefit Youth On Their Own.
βThis is a lot of competitors who come together for a good cause, kind of like the Olympics ... but our goal is to help these kids reach their dreams to graduate,β said Scott Aguilar, co-chair of the event with Donna Maynard.
Aguilar and Maynard head a committee comprised of members of the Arizona Roofing Contractors Association, which raised more than $20,000 at last yearβs tournament. The event has raised nearly $250,000 since its inception 13 years ago.
Kristyn Conner, YOTO development coordinator, said the contractors association and its charitable foundation, the Arizona Roofing Industry Foundation, have been powerhouses for YOTO, which supports the high school graduation of homeless and unaccompanied youth in Pima County. The nonprofit receives no federal funding but provides services with the help of several small grants from the city of Tucson and Pima County and contributions from businesses and individuals.
βWe have been a nonprofit in Tucson for more than 30 years and are really good at serving homeless youth, but the catch-22 is that we are not quite a housing provider so we donβt qualify for HUD funding and we are not quite a school so we donβt qualify for funding from the Department of Education,β Conner said.
βPeople assume because we have been around for so long that we have a sophisticated federal funding model, but the majority of our funding is through individuals and third-party events.
βThat is why we are so grateful to have the support of the Tucson community and groups like ARCA.β
YOTO served 1,588 students in grades six through 12 during the 2015-2016 school year. In its drop-out-prevention efforts, the organization offers monthly stipends ($25 for middle school and up to $140 for high school) to encourage good grades and regular school attendance. YOTO also provides emotional support and assistance with housing, transportation and other resources for youth who find themselves forced from their homes due to reasons ranging from physical, sexual or substance abuse and violence to issues such as parental incarceration, poverty, abandonment or neglect.
Conner emphasized that many homeless youth remain undetected. She said the most recent statistics from the Arizona Department of Education in 2013 estimated that at least 5,600 Pima County students were homeless.
βPeople hear homeless youth and they think that canβt be because you donβt see them. It is βout of sight, out of mind.β One of our biggest struggles is helping people to understand what homeless kids look like: They may be in foster care or group homes or sleeping on grandmaβs couch this week, but next week she canβt afford to feed them so they move to another relativeβs couch. Essentially that is homelessness because they are lacking a safe, stable place to go home to at night,β she said.
Just as with adults, youth homelessness knows no socio-economic, racial or cultural boundaries, according to Conner. She also said many people donβt realize the thought process for leaving school often begins by fifth grade for children who are compromised.
βBy sixth grade, the dropout thought process has begun for many children if they come home without parental support or are in extreme poverty. ... So we really expanded our efforts in middle schools last year,β she said.
The reality of youth homelessness helped to inspire Tucson native Aguilar β a single father of two college students and a high school junior β to support YOTO.
βI just couldnβt imagine my kids jumping form house to house like lots of these kids and trying to go through that stage of life by themselves,β said the sales representative for Eagle Roofing in Phoenix.
The stories of the young people have made a huge impact on all of those involved, according to Maynard, branch manager for Allied Building Products.
βThe thing we have always heard from our great supporters in the roofing community is that the tournament is so successful because 100 percent of the proceeds go to YOTO, which is just a fantastic organization. We are pleased to host this one-day event because we know it goes toward such a good cause,β she said.
