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LGBTQ youth organization receives $1.9 million to serve more homeless young people

Coverage of aging is supported in part by AARP Arizona

A local LGBTQ-advocacy organization received a nearly $2 million grant to help support the youth it serves. The grant is the largest in the group’s history. 

Nate Rhoton is the CEO of One-n-Ten, an LGBTQ youth advocacy group in Phoenix. 

"Depending on the study that you see, they represent 38 to 40% of the young adults experiencing homelessness," Rhoton said.

Recently, One-n-Ten was the recipient of a $1.9 million grant from the Arizona Department of Housing.

"This funding will ensure that we're providing safe housing for 70 or more young adults over the next two-and-a-half years," Rhoton said. 

Rhoton says One-n-Ten uses what’s called a scattered site model, "which leverages individual studio and one bedroom apartments across the Valley to allow young people to stay living in the areas where maybe they have different support structures."

Like a family friend or maybe their school or work is in the area. 

"And if we require them to move to a site based program, like a large building in downtown, say, for instance, many times that means that they lose or have to quit those jobs and or drop out of that school," Rhoton said. 

KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.