Posts By: Sondra Lehmann

TNOYS member Clothed by Faith was created when founder Abi Fourie noticed a growing need for suitable clothing for children experiencing poverty. As a recent expat from the U.K., Abi was surprised to learn the extent to which poverty was an issue in her community — even within the affluent areas surrounding her new home… Read more »

Last week, TNOYS convened stakeholders working to protect youth during natural disasters. Cross-systems collaboration is important to us at TNOYS, and this event was a unique opportunity for experts in emergency response, child welfare, disaster relief, and others to discuss best practices and build relationships. Texas unfortunately leads the nation in natural disasters, with one… Read more »

For many years, TNOYS has been committed to elevating youth voice and advancing youth engagement in decisions that impact their lives. We do this through a variety of programs, such as our Youth in Action Capitol Day and Young Adult Leadership Council, and in the way we incorporate youth as equal participants in our Annual… Read more »

Across the state, many communities are struggling with how to best support those experiencing homelessness. In Central Texas, one organization has been working to create solutions to address youth homelessness for almost 50 years now. Central Texas Youth Services (CTYS), which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, was first founded by community members concerned… Read more »

Every two to three years, TNOYS works with our Board of Directors to develop a strategic plan to guide our work and outline priorities for supporting Texas’ youth and families and the organizations and professionals who serve them. We recently completed the new strategic plan for FY 2020 – FY 2021 and we’re excited about… Read more »

This post is authored by Alex Polk, a member of TNOYS’ Young Adult Leadership Council. As we continue to see exposure and heightened awareness from the LGBTQ community, it’s imperative that youth service providers educate ourselves and others on how we can support the LGBTQ  youth we work with directly and also educate foster parents on the importance of creating… Read more »

Heartstrings Youth Village, one of TNOYS’ newest member organizations, was recently started by former school social worker Ritasha Taylor, who saw that there weren’t enough resources available in her East Fort Bend County community to support youth experiencing housing instability. Until the new organization can build a brick-and-mortar shelter, its goal is to address youth… Read more »

Last year, TNOYS held its first-ever leadership conference for nonprofit executives in an effort to meet the need for quality leadership and management training in the nonprofit sector. After a successful event and positive feedback from attendees, we brought back the conference for a second year and once again were able to share some valuable… Read more »

TNOYS hosted our 36th Annual Conference for Services to Youth and Families in Houston last month and was excited to see how enthusiastically attendees embraced this year’s theme of “Stepping Into Your Superpower.” Inspired by a variety of expert speakers and interactive workshops, attendees of all ages and backgrounds worked together to strengthen their skills… Read more »

One of the things that truly sets TNOYS’ Annual Conference apart is the fact that youth and young adults are fully integrated as planners, presenters, and participants. It is part of TNOYS’ commitment to elevating youth voice and encouraging youth engagement in decisions that impact their lives — an approach that has been proven to… Read more »