New Scholar House, Serving Single Parents, Opens in Richmond
FRANKFORT, Kentucky — The Workforce Pathway at Kit Carson Commons Scholar House, a unique combination of affordable housing, workforce development and education support center, will celebrate its grand opening Wednesday, October 26, with a dedication and ribbon-cutting. Governor Andy Beshear, Congressman Andy Barr and KHC Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Winston Miller, among other guests, will be on hand for the ceremony.
The Scholar House residential side of Kit Carson Commons consists of 25 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom units to accommodate 30 full-time students currently enrolled in an approved post-secondary institution and their children. Residents will receive ongoing case management, educational support and access to various workshops and programs on topics including parenting skills, money management, nutrition and job search techniques. Priority is given to low-income military service members and veterans.
The public-facing workforce development component of Kit Carson Commons provides community members with training and job placement in the fields of manufacturing, warehousing and fulfillment.
“We’re incredibly proud to be a partner in this project because it brings together in one complex so many of the programs Kentucky Housing Corporation champions,” said Miller. “The Workforce Pathway at Kit Carson Commons offers affordable housing for low-income renters, workforce development for under- and unemployed local residents and a support system of education, career and social work specialists to make sure every participant is best equipped to reach that ultimate goal of self-sufficiency. With this kind of multidimensional facility, we’re able to serve so many more low- to no-income Kentuckians than the number of apartments here. We’re serving residents, we’re serving the local community and we’re serving Kentucky.”
Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC) provided $1,001,263 in Low Income Housing Tax Credits for this $10-million project. Fahe, Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing, Madison County Fiscal Court and the City of Richmond all provided significant contributions to the project, too, and Eastern Kentucky University, on whose property the center was built, provided support through a long-term land lease.
