Teens & Sibling groups are the hardest to place — and the closest to aging out with nowhere to land.

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“Research has long documented that young people who have been abused or neglected are at a higher probability of becoming engaged in delinquent behavior.” – Mahoning County Children Services

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Teens & Sibling groups are the hardest to place — and the closest to aging out with nowhere to land. ••• “Research has long documented that young people who have been abused or neglected are at a higher probability of becoming engaged in delinquent behavior.” – Mahoning County Children Services •••

  • The Facts

  • Teens & Sibling groups are the hardest to place — and the closest to aging out with nowhere to land.

    “At any given time, Mahoning County Children Services has between 150 to 200 children in foster care. To help meet the need, the agency is seeking more licensed foster caregivers and foster homes in the county.”

    Go To the source

  • Rise in local homelessness reported in 2024 alone — nearly double the national rate

    Local homelessness rose sharply in 2024, with reported increases in the Mahoning Valley outpacing the national rate, driven in part by rising rents and a shrinking supply of affordable units.

    Go To the Source

  • “Research has long documented that young people who have been abused or neglected are at a higher probability of becoming engaged in delinquent behavior.”

    Mahoning County Children Services

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  • Youngstown Blue Coats directly supported 4,271 individuals in the winter of 2024-25, with 9,488 served in total through partner collaborations.

    Youngstown Blue Coats, a frontline homelessness response nonprofit, reported serving over 4,200 individuals directly in the 2024–25 winter season alone, up from roughly 3,800 the year before — a clear year-over-year increase in need.

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  • Mahoning County Continuum of Care

    “The CoC program is also designed to promote community-wide planning and strategic use of resources to address homelessness. The CoC works to improve coordination and integration with mainstream resources and other program who target people experiencing homelessness.”

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Our Mission

YNOT Woods’ mission is to provide a safe, structured residential care and life-skills programming for teens in the Mahoning Valley who are experiencing homelessness, abuse, or neglect — so that every young person in our care leaves with stability, skills, and someone in their corner.

Who We Serve

YNOT Woods serves youth & sibling groups, who are dependent, neglected, or at-risk and involved in Ohio's child welfare system, specifically those experiencing homelessness, abuse, or family instability in Mahoning County. These are young people referred to us through Mahoning County Children Services or a comparable custodial agency, typically because family reunification isn't immediately possible and a local foster home placement isn't available. Our transition and aftercare services extend our relationship beyond age 18, supporting them through the full window of transition into independent adulthood, not just during their residency.

Alongside the youth themselves, we serve a closely connected secondary client: Mahoning County Children Services and similar referring agencies, who depend on organizations like ours to provide safe, local, licensed placement options for the teenagers and sibling groups they've identified as their hardest population to place. In a very real sense, our success in serving one client group is inseparable from meeting the needs of the other — Children Services needs a reliable local partner, and the youth need a stable, appropriate place to land.

Plant A Seed

Where your gift Grows…

Your donations directly supports YNOT Woods Home and is tax deductible. YNOT Woods Home is a fiscally sponsored program of UNISON LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of United Way of Central Ohio and a 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are made to UNISON in support of YNOT Woods Home, and UNISON will provide your tax receipt.

DONATE HERE

Give by Mail

Mail a check payable to: United Way of Central Ohio. Indicate “YNOT Woods Home” on the check memo line.

YNOT Woods Home c/o United Way of Central Ohio

215 N. Front Street Suite 600
Columbus, Ohio 43215

  • Before we can welcome our youth we have to prepare and furnish the home, meet Ohio's licensing and safety requirements, and train and screen our staff. Per diem reimbursement covers daily care once we're open — it doesn't cover getting there. Your gift does!

  • Help us build Mentorship programming that connects youth with community members, professionals, and regional partners through group sessions, skill-based workshops, and small-group conversations. We don't assign a mentor — we open a door to a whole community — increasing the chance the youth finds someone whose experience speaks to theirs, and keeping the program stable as volunteers come and go.

  • Our beds will stay full — the need here is steady. But reimbursement follows the care, which means we house and support a young person prior to receiving funds from the state agency.

    When a child leaves YNOT Woods, they take our care with them. Your gift contributes to that sustainability — preparing a place for the next young person who needs a soft place to land.