Diogenes Youth Services started in 1969 as a counseling and crisis intervention center and has grown to become one of the only local non-profit agencies offering free comprehensive services focused primarily on 12 to 17 year-olds. On any given night there are at least 300-400 teens living on the streets in the Sacramento area and thousands more in crisis just one step away.

For more than 40 years, Diogenes Youth Services has cared for these runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth. Diogenes is committed to improving both individual lives and the community we live in. Their philosophy is not to “rescue” troubled teens, but actively involve them in the process of solving their problems and conflicts, so that they will become responsible, contributing members of society. Diogenes has been recognized over the years by many organizations, including the County Board of Supervisors, for their effectiveness.