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Have you ever been to a place where you instantly felt like you belonged and don’t know how it took you so long to get there? In the small amount of time I’ve been employed at Family Scholar House, those are just a few things I reflect on almost everyday. I don’t think I could tell you specifics of the first time I interacted with Family Scholar House, but I can sure tell you about how much it has impacted me as of recently.

Art therapy is one of the many available resources we offer at Family Scholar House. Our art therapist works with our parents, children, and young adults to use self-expression through painting, drawing, and other artistic activities. 95% of our participants are survivors of domestic violence. With that being said, we have found many prefer processing their trauma through art. This is also a good way for us to work with our younger children, who may struggle using words to express their big emotions.

“From our very first campus, the decision to paint our apartment doors different colors was never about the aesthetic; it was always about creating a sense of identity, a way for children to recognize ‘home’ and  families to experience the feeling of belonging.” If you drive past one of our campuses you are likely to notice the variety of colors on our participant’s doors. This was not by accident. Many of our participant's experience homelessness or unstable housing before calling an FSH campus home. This means not only have they experienced instability, but so have their children. Picture this, you are 4 years old and every apartment door is the same color, how does yours stand out? For our little scholars, they know the purple door on the first floor or red door on the third is where they call home, where they read bedtime stories each night and wake each morning.

Recognizing this tremendous need in Houston, Family Scholar House (FSH) is bringing this vital support to Houston through the construction of our new campus, Manson Place for Parent Scholars. While the campus, which offers affordable housing in Houston’s Third Ward, will break ground this summer and open in 2024, pre-residential services are already available to anyone interested in seeking support to realize their career goals.

On the journey to self-sufficiency participant’s will have opportunities to network with community leaders that work for a variety of organizations across Louisville. This is how our participants learn about different career paths, find mentors and land career track employment. As many of us know, there are so many steps between searching for employment and actually landing the position. One of those steps in the interview process which includes research, preparation, practice and dressing for the job. That is why Linda’s Closet is an important resource for our families.

An Interview with a current FSH participant. When asked What FSH means to her: "I love, appreciate, and above all am so thankful for Family Scholar House and their huge support system of hardworking advocates & coaches who go out of their way to make sure every participant is being seen, heard and taken care of. That's huge to me!"