More Than Keys: Make It Happen for Yolo County Turns Empty Apartments Into Homes For Young Adults

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text... (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2359248/fa...) Getting housing is a major milestone for a young person transitioning out of foster care, homelessness, or the juvenile justice system. But what happens when they walk into that apartment and there’s nothing inside? No bed. No table. No dishes. No towels. No basic furniture. In this episode, I speak with Jan Judson, founder and board president of Make It Happen for Yolo County, and executive director Cathi Schmidt to talk about the often-overlooked issue of furniture poverty and the impact it can have on dignity, stability, mental health, and independence. Make It Happen for Yolo County serves transition-age youth between 16 and 24 who are connected to Yolo County. Through referrals from partner organizations, the team provides the furniture, household goods, small appliances, bicycles, and everyday essentials needed to turn an empty apartment into a functional home. What began informally in a garage has grown into an organization that served 12 youth in its first year and is working toward serving 72 this year. Along the way, Make It Happen for Yolo County has built partnerships with social workers, CASA programs, schools, nonprofit organizations, community groups, volunteers, and donors. Jan and Cathi also share some of the stories that make this work so powerful: young adults using cardboard boxes as desks and dining tables, a young man sleeping on the floor with his backpack as a pillow, and former foster youth who have gone on to graduate school, meaningful careers, and lives of service to others. We talk about the organization’s growing pains, the need for sustainable funding, the importance of volunteers, and a vision that is both ambitious and remarkably tangible: making sure every eligible under-resourced transition-age youth in Yolo County who needs this support can receive it. It’s a conversation about much more than furniture. It’s about dignity, choice, belonging, and what it really takes to help a young person build a stable life. Learn more, volunteer, donate furniture, or support the organization at https://www.mihyolo.org/ Chapters: 00:00 – Meet Make It Happen for Yolo County  03:00 – How the Organization Began  04:30 – Who Make It Happen for Yolo County Serves  07:00 – The Hidden Problem of Furniture Poverty  11:00 – What It Takes to Furnish a Home  14:00 – Awareness, Referrals and Community Collaboration  21:00 – Why a Functional Home Matters for Mental Health  24:00 – How Make It Happen for Yolo County Is Funded  27:00 – The Vision for Growth and Greater Impact  34:00 – The Organization’s Biggest Needs  38:00 – Success Stories From the Young Adults Served  45:00 – How to Donate, Volunteer and Get Involved Thank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story!  We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/  And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.