Established in 2010 and located in Avondale, Homeless Youth Connection has served more than 2,700 homeless students across the Valley. Staff provide basic necessities, case management, housing, counseling, mentoring, and life skills training to youth, ages 13-21, attending over 100 high schools in 10 districts. These resources help ensure that students have the support necessary to stay in school, earn a diploma, and pursue a brighter future.
Mentoring
College Connect Tempe
College Connect Tempe is a community collaboration designed to increase access to postsecondary opportunities. This free workshop series enlists mentors who provide resources, financial guidance, and support for low-income and first-generation students at critical points in the college application and admissions process.
Border Youth Tennis Exchange
In 2017 Nogales launched a distinctive cross-border, afterschool youth development program, in conjunction with the U.S. Tennis Association Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County. The organization provides high-quality tennis instruction and a specialized digital academic curriculum, facilitated by bilingual educators in novel teaching spaces in Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Lesson plans include STEAM topics (science, technology, engineering, art, math); social-emotional learning; digital storytelling; and personal narrative, as well as collaborative projects and activities tailored to each site.