The population of homeless teenagers in Owensboro is on the rise, although actual data on this demographic is hard to quantify. In many cases, these teens are “precariously housed,” meaning they crash on friends’ couches or bounce between family members without a stable home.
Owensboro Youth Service Center Coordinator Michelle Mayfield said often the community doesn’t believe there is a homeless problem because they don’t see people wandering the streets.
“A lot of what we’re seeing are families that are ‘doubled up,’” Mayfield said, explaining that multiple families will live under one roof to make ends meet, despite a lack of space or beds. “I couldn’t begin to tell you how many families are living with other families.”
Mayfield said there is also a significant number of families staying in local homeless shelters and motels for temporary housing. During the second semester, she said, there is an increase in precariously housed teens as many seniors turn 18 and can technically leave their home.
“These kids don’t get along with their parents, are in a bad living situation or their parents will kick them out,” Mayfield said.
But there is no way to truly quantify how many students the youth service center would consider homeless because there is no requirement to report.
“We rely on teachers to notify us if they see students sleeping in class, showing up to school without clean clothes or suddenly not doing their homework,” Mayfield said of possible indicators of an unsteady home. “Making relationships is so important so the students feel comfortable talking to us. But there are kids bouncing from home to home and we may not know about it.”
Mayfield said she can’t report how many students she has that she would consider homeless. She said while she could think of more than a handful, she knows the number is far greater.
“This is something that they keep hidden. It’s not something they are proud of,” she said.
If the youth service center does make contact with a student they find to be homeless, Mayfield said the first step is to open a dialogue with the student, with the main goal of reuniting the teen with his or her family.
“If that isn’t an option, what we find for those cases is that shelters are the only alternative,” Mayfield said.
The youth service center can provide these teens transportation with city bus passes, clothing through community nonprofits and food through churches and backpack programs, but Mayfield said adequate housing is lacking.
“There are no shelters specifically for youth,” she said. And while social services would become involved for students without a home that are under 18, those over 18 only have shelters as alternative housing.
Harry Pedigo, executive director of St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter, chairs the Homeless Council of the Ohio Valley. In a recent meeting, Pedigo addressed the issue, expressing concern for bringing teens to his shelter.
“Teenagers can’t thrive in a shelter with our older population,” Pedigo said.
It was because of this situation that community members founded the Empowerment Academy four years ago to address the needs of the teenage homeless population. The nonprofit focuses on precariously housed high school students that are wanting to complete their education with the goal of providing them housing, food and supplies for school.
According to board member Vicki Quisenberry, the goal is to build their own housing facility, however an agreement was reached with Kentucky Wesleyan College to use vacant dorms on campus. But record enrollment for KWC this academic year meant that plan was no longer viable.
The Empowerment Academy has secured enough community donations to build a housing facility, in large part to board member Mike Ballard with Ballard Construction who received a commitment from the Home Builders Association to construct what the board is tentatively calling the Empowerment Home.
“All we need is the land,” Quisenberry said. “We would like for it to be close to OCTC and on the city bus route.” The board has looked at dozens of property options, but none have panned out.
With the KWC agreement no longer possible, the need for new construction is even more pressing. Once land is secured, construction can begin immediately, Quisenberry said. The board plans for the facility to house up to eight students in a dorm-style setup with shared living spaces and bathrooms.
Students living in the Empowerment House will have case managers as well as resident assistants and a house parent to provide supervision while on campus. These future staff members will also be tasked with teaching students life skills like cooking and balancing a budget.
“Our bylaws say the Empowerment House is for all high school students, but our first step will be just those that are 18 because they can legally be on their own,” Quisenberry said.
Quisenberry is hopeful that those high schoolers under 18 could stay at the Empowerment Home after the passing of House Bill 420, which allows parents or guardians to establish power of attorney temporarily to another family or individual for a short, set amount of time.
According to Mayfield, the Empowerment Home is desperately needed.
“It would allow an 18-year-old a safe, warm consistent place to be,” she said. “When a kid is worried about where they are going to sleep, it’s hard for them to be successful.”
