Blanket Donation to Youth Services of Tulsa, in Honor of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month

In the United States, many Americans are living on the edge, forced to choose between necessities like purchasing food, paying rent or going to the doctor. 549,000 Americans are homeless on a typical night. Many of these Americans call the streets of Tulsa home.

 

In a recent Public Radio Tulsa article, written by Matt Trotter, the City of Tulsa's Housing Policy Director, Becky Gligo, is quoted as saying, "our homelessness numbers are continuing to rise — not astronomically, but they’re on the rise." [1] The article goes on to say that the projected number of people who are homeless, in Tulsa, is close to 7,000.

 

Ferguson Subaru believes in being more than a car dealership. We are dedicated to supporting organizations that help our neighbors and our community members in need. As we head into the season of giving and the nights get colder, we wanted to do our part to provide warmth and solace for those who need our help this winter.

 

The Ferguson Subaru team delivered several cases of new blankets to Youth Services of Tulsa, on November 13. Youth Services of Tulsa (YST) will distribute those blankets to the teens and young adults who turn to its innovative Street Outreach program for assistance with basic needs and resources to help them exit homelessness. 

 

From left to right: Joe Essling (Subaru Of America), Rob Paine (Ferguson Subaru), Eric Jellison (Ferguson Subaru), Tabor Guinn (Ferguson Subaru), Brian Young (Youth Services of Tulsa), and Jeremy Bautista (Ferguson Subaru)

 

"Thanks to the generosity of Ferguson Subaru in Tulsa, Oklahoma, dozens of young people experiencing homelessness will receive new blankets to help them through the coming winter months," said YST's Community Relations Coordinator, Brian Young. 

 

Our donations to YST is part of Subaru Of America's bigger Subaru Loves to Help initiative. Through this initiative, Subaru and its participating retailers [including Ferguson Subaru] will donate 50,000 blankets to homeless shelters across the country this November. The donation, which will reach nearly 600 local homeless shelters, is also in recognition of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. To learn more about Subaru Loves to Help and the community work Ferguson Subaru does, visit FergusonSubaru.com/subaru-love-promise.htm 

 

 

More about YST: 

Youth Services of Tulsa (YST) is a nonprofit organization assisting young people ages 12-24 throughout Tulsa County. YST offers a continuum of care through 15 programs focused on four key areas: Runaway and Homeless Services, Counseling, Delinquency Prevention, and Youth Development. YST is the only agency in the area dedicated solely to the needs of teens and transition-age youth. Visit www.yst.org to learn more.

Sources: [1]

Trotter, Matt. “City of Tulsa Announces Four-Year Strategy to Deal With Affordable Housing Shortage.” Public Radio Tulsa, 12 Dec. 2019, www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/city-tulsa-announces-four-year-strategy-deal-affordable-housing-shortage.