Posts By: Sondra Lehmann

Young Adult Staff Members Enhance TNOYS’ Work

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 »

Member Spotlight: Central Texas Youth Services

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 »

Looking Ahead: TNOYS’ FY 2020-2021 Strategic Plan

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 »

Supporting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth

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 »

Member Spotlight: Heartstrings Youth Village

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 »

“Leading Together: TNOYS’ 2nd Annual Leadership Conference for Nonprofit Executives” Provides Valuable Professional Development Opportunity

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 »

Youth and Professionals Discover Their Inner Superheroes at TNOYS’ 36th Annual Conference

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 »

Young Adult Participants Reflect on TNOYS’ Annual Conference

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 »

Big Wins in the Texas Legislature for Youth Experiencing Homelessness

As the 86th Texas Legislative Session winds down, we are excited to report that it has produced some important policy changes that will have a big impact for youth. TNOYS’ legislative agenda for this session addressed multiple issues, including increasing foster care reimbursement rates, strengthening the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program for youth transitioning… Read more »

Building Alliances Runaway Prevention Training is Coming to TNOYS Annual Conference

This spring, TNOYS and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) co-hosted the training session “Building Alliances with Youth to Prevent Runaway and Other Challenging Behaviors” in three cities across Texas. Young adults with experience in the foster care system and youth currently in care helped present much of the material on how… Read more »