Empowering Homeless Youth With Digital Resources.
Youth On Their Own (YOTO) is a nonprofit dedicated to helping homeless and at-risk youth graduate from high school. By providing financial assistance, mentorship, and resources, YOTO empowers students to succeed against the odds. The organization needed a digital platform to expand its reach and improve its impact.
The Challenge
Homeless and at-risk youth face barriers that extend beyond academics—they struggle with access to resources, stability, and support systems. YOTO wanted to create a platform that provided students with easy access to financial aid, mentorship opportunities, and community resources, helping them succeed in school and beyond.
The challenge was to design a platform that balanced sensitivity with usability. It had to provide clear and compassionate communication while ensuring secure handling of sensitive student information. The system also needed to be easy to use for young people navigating difficult circumstances.
Our Approach
We partnered with YOTO to create a digital platform that supported students holistically. Our team conducted Usability Testing with youth and program administrators to identify the most critical needs.
From there, we designed flows for resource discovery, mentorship matching, and financial aid applications. Through Custom Web App Development, we delivered a platform that combined trust, accessibility, and scalability, ensuring YOTO could expand its mission digitally.
This platform introduced a multi-faceted approach to managing student services, featuring a user-friendly ‘Mini Mall’ for easy access to daily necessities, a streamlined system for service management, and a sophisticated tracking mechanism for assessing student performance and facilitating financial aid. Beyond the initial development, Goji Labs committed to continuous improvement of the platform, ensuring it remains responsive to the evolving needs of YOTO and its beneficiaries.
- Conducted usability testing with students and administrators
- Designed flows for financial aid, mentorship, and resource access
- Built secure infrastructure for sensitive student information
- Developed UI/UX focused on clarity, compassion, and empowerment
The Impact
The YOTO platform launched as a lifeline for students navigating homelessness and instability. It gave youth a trusted resource to access financial support, mentorship, and tools to stay on track academically.
The impact extended to program administrators, who gained better visibility into student needs and outcomes. YOTO positioned itself as a model nonprofit using digital innovation to expand its mission and reach more young people in need.
The deployment of the custom web application has been transformative for YOTO, significantly enhancing its operational capacity and service delivery. The platform has notably increased accessibility and engagement, as evidenced by the Mini Mall’s usage stats: 2,897 visits by 729 unique individuals in the current fiscal year, an increase of 55%. This digital transformation has led to a marked improvement in the percentage of students served, with a doubling effect over the past five years. The introduction of the YOTO Portal, in particular, has played a pivotal role in this success, making it easier for students to utilize the services offered, thereby directly contributing to YOTO’s mission of supporting students towards graduation and beyond.
- Increased access to mentorship and financial resources for students
- Improved student retention and graduation rates
- Strengthened administrative ability to track and support youth outcomes
- Positioned YOTO as a digital leader in youth empowerment
Project Review
Daniela Barlev
Director of Programs YOTO
“Goji Labs has really knocked it out of the park and helped us extend our mission into the digital space. The platform feels safe, supportive, and empowering for our students.”
