Posts By: Lara O'Toole

The TNOYS Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC) has been making an impact since it began in 2018. Read more about its work so far here. These accomplishments would not have been possible without strong and dedicated members. Get to know a little more about YALC member Justin Hayward in this recent interview. Why did you… Read more »

The TNOYS Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC) has been making an impact since it began in 2018. Read more about its work so far here. These accomplishments would not have been possible without strong and dedicated members.Get to know a little more about YALC member Charles Batiste in this recent interview Why did you join… Read more »

TNOYS has a longstanding commitment to elevating youth voice and developing youth-adult alliances so that youth and young adults can have a say on the issues and decisions that impact their lives. TNOYS’ Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC), launched just last year, has already provided its members with dozens of opportunities to do just that.  … Read more »

Thanks to a grant from the Office of the Texas Governor, TNOYS is launching a collaborative new project this month with the Texas Center for Child and Family Studies (The Center) to reduce the risk of youth becoming victims of child sex trafficking (CST) and to facilitate recovery for survivors. Through the project, TNOYS will build… Read more »

TNOYS has always made it a priority to elevate the voices of youth in a variety of ways in our policy work. Hearing directly from youth with lived experience in the youth services and child welfare system has a powerful impact on all who witness it. It is especially important that the lawmakers who create… Read more »

Since the start of the 86thTexas Legislature this January, TNOYS has been at the forefront in engaging youth and young adults from our member and partner organizations in the legislative process. Through opportunities to give testimony during legislative hearings and at our February 1stYouth in Action Capitol Day, youth have been able to share their… Read more »

TNOYS is honored to have awarded $117,500 in grants so far to support schools and community-based organizations in meeting the demand from youth and families who are homeless or in unstable living conditions as a result of Hurricane Harvey as part of its Safety Nets for Students and Families project. Grants to Increase Capacity In… Read more »

Since its inception in September, 2018, the Safety Net for Students and Families initiative has hosted 10 training events in cities and communities across the Gulf Coast region to support partnerships among school and district personnel as well as youth and homeless services providers as well as build critical skills to support youth and families who… Read more »

January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month in Texas, a reflection of the deep commitment held by our state’s leaders to ending child sex trafficking. The designation, first made by the Legislature in 2015 and championed by Governor. Greg Abbott, provides an opportunity to raise awareness of the problem and solutions to address it. Several of… Read more »