Homeless high school graduates need a little help!

The 2016 Arizona Homelessness Annual Report stated that 29,537 children were homeless throughout the state.Of those, 65% of the children were reported as doubled-up (living with other families or friends), 28% were living in shelters, 3% were living in unsheltered situations (such as cars, parks, camp grounds and abandoned buildings) and 4% were temporarily residing in hotels or motels due to lack of alternative adequate accommodations.

Since 2010, HYC has served more than 2,600 homeless youth.Typically, the population is made up equally of females and males.Our demographics are 36% Hispanic/Latino; 28% Caucasian; 24% African American; 1% Native American; 1% Asian/Pacific Islander and 10% Multi-racial.

HYC serves more than 80 public, charter and on-line high schools in districts throughout Maricopa County including Agua Fria, Buckeye, Dysart, Glendale, Higley, Mesa, Peoria, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, Saddle Mountain and Tolleson.

As we come to the end of the school year, well over 100 of the teens in the program have graduated from high school this year! HYC would like to provide them with some much needed help as they head to college or the work force, principally in the form of gift cards to help with basics, or with some basics like twin sheets, calculators, ear buds, alarm clocks, and flash drives.

I spoke with Chance Bogart from HYC about the successes these young people have achieved so far and how a little bit of help can go a long way to helping them be successful on the next level.