Message from the Executive Director:

Dear Friends,

“I’ve never really had a home. Life on the streets is all I’ve ever known. My mom was an alcoholic and bounced around from place to place. Different guys, different jobs - she promised me a lot, but nothing ever changed. So when I was fifteen, I took off. I’ve been out here ever since.”

That’s what Kevin told me when he first came to Open Inn a few years ago.

For homeless youth like Kevin, the path home can feel like a long and impossible maze. These vulnerable young people need encouragement, support, and guidance to escape the danger that awaits them on the streets and to ultimately find their path home. And each year Open Inn provides just that, helping more than 12,000 of Arizona’s most vulnerable youth and families like Kevin.

The despair faced by Arizona’s youth and families continues to grow at alarming rates. When I tell people that we help more than 12,000 people every year at Open Inn, they are often surprised. Perhaps, like them, you weren’t aware of just how many of Arizona’s children and youth call our communities’ streets, friends’ couches, abandoned buildings, or outdoor camps home.

You also may not know that a teenager runs away in this country every 30 seconds, or that Tucson has the second highest rate of runaway arrests in the nation. Open Inn is on the front lines, helping these young people to re-unite with their families and become self-sufficient adults.

Since 1974, our organization has been a leader in supporting runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth and their families in Cochise, Coconino, Graham, Greenlee, Pima, and Santa Cruz Counties. We are proud of the unparalleled legacy of service we have provided to Arizona’s youth and families over the past three decades and look forward to continuing this legacy until every young person in Arizona has a place to call home. With your support and partnership, we will achieve this vision.

Thank you for your support and commitment to Open Inn’s mission to empower children, youth and families to experience and develop positive self-worth. We are excited that you have visited us invite you to consider opportunities to find your own home with Open Inn as you explore our employment, volunteer, and support opportunities.

Thank you again and welcome.

In Celebration of Arizona’s Youth and Families,

Nancy L. Panico, MBA
Executive Director