Letter from Our CEO

This spring, YouthLink stands at a crucial crossroads. In nearly 50 years in operation, we have faced numerous economic and societal challenges, but this moment is like nothing we have seen before, and we urgently need your help.  

There is good news, and we’ll get to that in a minute, but with looming reductions in federal funding and setbacks to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, we need you to know that the impact on YouthLink and the young people we serve could be dire. Ninety-three percent of the youth we serve identify as youth of color, and the barriers to success that they have always faced are now growing. We have to stand with them and make sure they still have a chance to succeed!

With your immediate support, YouthLink will be on our way to earning a $30,000 match. We just need 130 donors to unlock the full match, and your support combined with the matching gift will make a significant positive impact. Please be as generous as you can.

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Your immediate support is vital. We are currently providing over 2,500 youth with services and resources, as well as safe and stable housing for over 150 youth and youth-led families (youth with children). Without your help, their only path to long-term stability is at risk. Our community standing with us is essential for keeping YouthLink’s comprehensive wraparound services strong—you are a key part of our work to empower young people to take control of their lives through holistic, tailored services, including education and employment support, and mental health and substance use counseling    

Thanks to you, we are equipping youth with the tools necessary for self-reliance and long-term wellbeing, and with your continued support we can keep providing them with everything they need to achieve safety and stability.

Some good news!

Young people and their children were served over 90,000 hot, nutritious meals last year—and being fed and knowing where their next meal was coming from helped them find the strength to start thinking about longer-term stability.
By providing one-time assistance paying past due rent and bills for youth dealing with sudden job loss or health issues, YouthLink prevented homelessness for over 100 youth in 2024—preventing all the trauma that comes with homelessness and saving the thousands of dollars often needed to rehouse youth once they became homeless.
With strong support and resources, 90% of youth who secure housing are still housed a year later, a testament to their perseverance and YouthLink’s wraparound care.

Yet even with the good news, recent and proposed cuts to federal funding directly impact YouthLink’s work on several levels. First, grants and contracts are a big part of YouthLink’s budget. Second, many of the youth we serve at least initially rely on social safety net programs in tandem with YouthLink services to get back on their feet. Third, cuts to Housing and Urban Development are already halting affordable housing developments and programs, which will reduce affordable housing options for everyone, including youth. These challenges are all happening at a time when YouthLink is seeing incredible increased demand and serving a record-breaking number of young people.  We need you with us.

Despite these challenges, our mission at YouthLink is unwavering. We are committed to supporting our community’s most vulnerable members and ensuring they receive the resources they need to build stability and wellbeing. We humbly ask for your generous contribution today to sustain YouthLink’s critical efforts.

Your support enables us to continue transformative work, including:

Providing safe, stable housing for young people and their children.
Supporting young people, especially young parents and youth transitioning out of foster care and incarceration, to build stability through our specialized programs.
Offering educational resources that include support to finish high school or get a GED, financial literacy, life skills development, and resource navigation.
Empowering youth to gain and sustain meaningful employment that translates into long-term stable housing.

Your contribution today is a beacon of hope for young people and our community during these challenging times. Together, we can create lasting change and ensure that every young person has the opportunity to thrive. 

Thank you for standing with YouthLink and the young people we serve. Together we are ensuring that some of the most vulnerable members of our community get the resources they need to find safety and stability.

Warm Regards,