GETTING TO KNOW yO!: By Chloe Quinn

          What is yO? It stands for “youth Opportunities” and it is a program geared towards young adults here in the Ashtabula area that serves youth between the ages of 16-24.  It is funded through the Ashtabula Department of Job and Family Services, and is officially ran by a lady named Shae Ballard.  “Miss Shae”, as she is affectionately known, has been running the program for some time, and the clients enjoy her support and guidance. “The program has been going on for over 17 years. I’ve been involved for six, almost seven years now,” Shae shared. “Jeff Seth, my boss at A-Tech, created yO! and has run it from the beginning. It allows for a great amount of creativity. We think outside of the box with our youth, and gear it towards both work and education.”

          The program has two tenets—year-round, and the summer program.  The year-round program hosts over 170 active youth.  The summer program currently has about 120 participants, but can manage up to 250—summer applications for this year are still being processed. Last  year, the yO! program hosted over 500 youth.  “Our program grew tremendously last year,” Shae said. “We have great partners in our community. They have opened their arms and welcomed our youth.  Some of our partners include Goodwill Industries, Lakeside High School, and the cities of Conneaut, Kingsville, Geneva, and Ashtabula, to name a few. We have had a huge response from the community.”

“We do a lot more education and case management with our year-round youth,” Shae continued. “We work with Catholic Charities to help them with financial literacy. In our TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) population last year, 40% had a self-reported disability, 20% spoke English as a second language, and about 20% of our youth were homeless.” Shae and her team work with the participants to develop life skills, work skills, and to transition to a place of self-sufficiency.

          The program has grown steadily over the past several years, and Goodwill does its part in hosting about 12 yO! participants each summer, beginning each June when school lets out.  The youth spend full or part-time here at Goodwill, get a feel for the world of work and complete their assignments working in many areas of the production floor.  They are involved in all aspects of service, from sorting and pricing the clothing items, to testing electronics, to moving priced and sorted items onto the sales floor. 

          Three yO! clients have ever-so-kindly volunteered to share a little bit about themselves with you, so that you could get to know them, and our program, better.  Thank you Alex, Nick, and Joleynie for your willingness, and we wish you good luck as you give it your best this summer!