By: Melody Ann Wallace
“The Learning Villa is a housing development designed to assist single and married parents who are enrolled as full-time students in a post-secondary educational institution and are working toward self-sufficiency.”
More and more people are finding that just when they are steadily pursuing the path to completing their higher education, they are surprised by the responsibility of having a child. The added financial stress of raising a child, along with the need to provide them with sufficient childcare and healthcare, often makes it seem impossible for single parents and families to complete their education. In 1976, a program was established for students in Louisville after young moms were denied college dorms and the services they needed in order to be able to attend school while caring for their families. Since that time, the Kentucky Housing Corporation sought to establish housing and daycare facilities for these parents in every city throughout the state of Kentucky.
In 2008, Homeland Property Management partnered with the Housing Authority of Owensboro and Audubon Area Community Services, Inc. in order to establish The Learning Villa. Located at 2245 East 18th Street, The Learning Villa is composed of 56 two-bedroom apartment units. Each unit measures approximately 900 square feet and is furnished with a range, refrigerator, dishwasher, and washer and dryer. The monthly rent, which is “income-based, but not income limited,” also includes utilities. In order to assist student tenants with their studies, there is also a 1,600 square foot community building equipped with a computer lab. A 10,000 square foot Head Start and Early Head Start child care facility, which is operated by Audubon Area Community Services, is available to provide on-site childcare while parent students work and attend classes.
In 2011, Amy Espinosa took over as the Housing Service Coordinator, having a full understanding herself of what an enormous task it is to succeed at college while raising a family. Amy holds several degrees, is currently pursuing her doctorate, has five children at home, and is responsible for sixty-eight adult residents and seventy-eight children. Some of her many responsibilities include: assuring that all children have their proper immunization forms, that any necessary tutoring and counseling sessions are arranged, that both parents and children make routine doctor and dentist visits, holds students accountable for their grades, and meets with residents every month to discuss their progress and any needs they may have. Amy has been described as someone who “has a heart for her residents, yet holds them accountable and shows them the value of what they are doing.”
Amy says that, in order to be eligible for The Learning Villa, potential residents must maintain full-time student status in the fall and spring semesters, have at least one dependent child under the age of 18, and meet the necessary income and eligibility requirements. All five area colleges: Brescia University, Daymar College, Kentucky Wesleyan College, Owensboro Community & Technical College, and Western Kentucky University also collaborate with Amy and a selection of appointed board members, to ensure the highest success of the parenting student. Student residents are also required to maintain at least a 2.0 grade point average and attend three workshops and three resident council meetings per calendar year. Workshops are designed to meet the needs of the student residents and their families and can cover a variety of topics, such as: financial management, meal preparation, child safety, self defense, literacy and language, and dental health. Council meetings are designed to give the residents a platform in order to discuss problems, successes, and any ideas they may have about improving The Learning Villa community or serving others throughout the community of Owensboro. Residents may stay at The Learning Villa for as long as it takes to complete their associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree, and as long as they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Learning Villa Success Stories
Shawna Hempfling
Shawna Hempfling was one of the first tenants to move into The Learning Villa. A single mother with one child, Shawna graduated from OCTC with her Associate in Science degree and went on to WKU to obtain her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Shawna graduated with a 3.8 grade point average, obtained a position at Owensboro Place as a charge nurse, and was able to move out of The Learning Villa in May of 2014 and purchased her first home. Her child was able to graduate the Head Start program and successfully move on to elementary school. Shawna is just one example of how parenting students can use The Learning Villa as a “stepping stone for a more successful future.”
Stephanie Whitney
In April of 2012, Stephanie Whitney found herself in a position where she needed an immediate home for herself and her three children, all under the age of ten at the time. Someone told Stephanie that The Learning Villa was a place to live for single parents that were attending school. Stephanie became the first tenant at the Learning Villa under Amy Espinosa’s care, and has since completed her associate degree in Criminal Justice at Daymar College. She is now working on her second associate degree in Human Services, and will then attend Western Kentucky University to obtain her Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work. Stephanie, who recently started working at River Valley Behavioral Health as a Peer Specialist, now enjoys “assisting adults in learning to live again on their own.” Stephanie knows first-hand what that feels like as she is a recovering addict herself.
At age twenty-two, Stephanie lost custody of her (then two) children. After six months of rehabilitation and eighteen months of drug court, she was able to regain custody of both of them. Stephanie said that without the help of The Learning Villa, she and her children would be homeless. Stephanie says that she is “working hard to make a better life for her children…to better their future,” and says that she is still friends with the mom who fostered her children while she was in rehab. She says that she is eager to complete her education because, “I’m going to school to help others like others have helped me.”
The Learning Villa is “a nice place to live while you finish that chapter of your life.”
Parenting Students:
The Statistics
• Nearly 25% of college students in the United States have dependent children
• 22% of college students in the state of Kentucky are parents
• Among low income and first generation students, more than one third are parents
• Single parents make up 13.9% of all community college students
• 59% of single parent women continue with levels of higher education, compared to 46% of married women
The Benefits
• Parents who complete higher levels of education tend to raise children who complete higher level of education
• The unemployment rate of adults with a Bachelor’s degree is nearly half in comparison to those individuals who only have a high school diploma
• An individual with a Bachelor’s degree makes at least 40% more in weekly earnings than an individual with a high school diploma
• With a Bachelor’s degree, a parent can increase their personal income level by up to 78%