Through the academic stipends program, students experiencing homelessness may earn a monthly stipend based on school attendance and level of need. The stipend provides an incentive to attend school while helping to take the “edge” off students’ poverty so they can focus less on daily survival and more on in-school success.

This financial incentive coupled with other services provided by Youth On Their Own such as material assistance, a food pantry and other incidentals, and guidance/academic encouragement, students in Pima County experiencing unaccompanied homelessness will remain enrolled in school and move closer to their high school graduation success. In 2025, 89% of Youth On Their Own on-track students graduated from high school! The Hickey Family Foundation has been supporting this effort since 2016.

For more information, visit yoto.org