History

Youth Emergency Services (YES) was founded in 1974 by a group of community volunteers who noticed homeless youth hanging around in Omaha's Old Market district.

At first, YES was led strictly by volunteers -- they invited youth in crisis to stay in their homes. One morning, a volunteer woke to her kitchen cabinets being painted green, and the volunteers decided it was time to invest in a home, which became known as the YES House.

• The YES House (known today as the Emergency Shelter) has been serving youth in crisis for more than 45 years.
• YES added its Street Outreach Program in 1999.
• YES launched its Transitional Living Program (TLP) and Maternity Home in 2008.
• YES started its Rapid Rehousing program in 2019. 

Learn more (pages 32-37) about YES and its history of helping homeless and near-homeless youth in our community in the June/July 2020 issue of metroMagazine.