At Altruic Advisors, we work exclusively with nonprofit organizations. After spending so much time with these amazing organizations - and the dedicated people who make it all possible - we can’t help but want to share their stories! Placing these organizations on firm financial footing is a meaningful and rewarding task, and our Client Spotlight series demonstrates how each of our nonprofit clients is special in their own way.
Ozone House provides high-quality housing and support services to runaway, homeless, and high-risk youth and their families. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this community-based nonprofit has been helping Washtenaw County youth reach their full potential since 1969. Read on to find out how Ozone House is changing the world, and what YOU can do to help them create good!
What is Ozone House’s core mission? How are you trying to “create good” in the world?
Ozone House is a community-based, nonprofit organization that helps young people lead safe, healthy and productive lives through intensive intervention and prevention services. Ozone House provides 24-hour support, emergency shelter and long-term housing, as well as employment help and other support services to youth in crisis ages 10-20 and their families in Washtenaw County, Michigan.
Youth seek support at Ozone House for a variety of reasons including family conflict (98%), mental health concerns (75%), unemployment (73%) and abuse/neglect (53%). Every year, we answer 2,200 crisis calls and 700 youth walk through our doors seeking shelter and support.
We are trying to “create good” in the world by helping young people achieve their full potential for growth and happiness. We do not work with bad kids; we work with resilient young people who find themselves in bad situations. We provide them with the resources that all youth need to thrive by focusing on their strengths, helping them stay in school or become employed, and providing around-the-clock, 24-hour housing and support services. We work with both young people and their families. Our ultimate goals are to reunite youth with their families whenever safe and appropriate, and to help young people achieve self-sufficiency.
How did Ozone House get its start?
We have been operating in Washtenaw County since 1969, and we are the only organization providing shelter and around-the-clock support to youth who face homelessness and housing instability in our community.
Our name has an interesting origin. The organization takes its name from the Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (a rock band originally from Ann Arbor) song, “Lost in the Ozone.” Ozone House was among the first alternative service providers that emerged in the 1960s to address the needs of runaway and at-risk youth.
What kind of programs or services do you provide?
Ozone House provides the following services:
24-hour crisis line
Emergency shelter
Transitional housing
PrideZone support group for youth who identify as LGBTQ
Daily hot meals
Free on-site medical and psychiatric care
Counseling
Individual, family and group therapy
Employment training (WorkZone)
An afterschool Drop-In Center in Ypsilanti
Life skills workshops
Educational support
Case management
All of our services are free of charge.
Our hallmark fundraising event of the year is our Harvest of Hope event, which will be held on September 9th, 2016 at Travis Pointe Country Club. Tickets will be available on our website www.ozonehouse.org in late summer. We have other fun events throughout the year, so check our website for information.
What’s one thing you wish everyone knew about Ozone House?
There are so many things that we wish the community knew about us. We wish that people knew that there are an estimated 1,400 homeless youth in Washtenaw County, and that over 98% of our clients seek support at Ozone House because of serious family conflict. People are very familiar with the name Ozone House, but they have no idea of the breadth of our services. They think of Ozone House as a “drug treatment center for teens” or as a “crash pad” for bad kids who defy their parents. What we wish they would know is that we provide critical and life-saving support, emergency shelter and housing to youth who are in very troubling and dangerous situations. If not for Ozone House, youth face abuse, neglect, foster care, severe mental illness, or are forced into sex or labor trafficking.
How can people support Ozone House?
Donations to Ozone House can be made on our website at www.ozonehouse.org. Additional volunteer opportunities include:
Sponsoring drives for items on our client wish list
Adopting a youth or family during the holidays
Volunteering for an Ozone House event
Helping with spring clean-up around our yard
Supporting Ozone House when shopping on Amazon through smile.amazon.com
Speaking at a monthly career panel at our Drop-In Center
For more information about our volunteer opportunities, please contact our volunteer coordinator at volunteer@ozonehouse.org or visit our website, www.ozonehouse.org. Thank you!