Program supporting single parent students expands to Muncie
A non-profit that’s been helping parents across the region earn a college degree while still caring for their children has recently expanded to Muncie. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, its first residential Muncie student will soon be finishing her first semester.
Single mom Paris Earley is 18 and enrolled at Ball State University. Scholar House, a non-profit run by Madison County’s JobSource, is providing her and other degree-seeking parents with resources like academic counseling, access to childcare, and even subsidized housing. Earley is the first Muncie student taking up residency with Scholar House, which is partnering with Ball State to use its single-family apartment complex.
“I feel good, especially to inspire any single mom, that you can go to school, even with the child and work, you know?” said Earely.
Briana Price is Scholar House’s executive director. She says the program has already shown great success in fighting against inherited poverty cycles.
“Seventy percent of our graduates immediately upon graduation go off all public benefits, 100 percent,” Said Price. “Because they no longer need them or they’re no longer making an income that they would qualify for any of those benefits.”
The program has been around for more than 20 years, and is based out of Louisville, Ky. Scholar House expanded to Anderson in 2021 before expanding to both Muncie and Marion.
Price reports that only eight percent of moms finish college nationally. Over the decades of the Scholar House program, this number jumps to 88 percent. She adds that of the women who completed their degrees, 30 percent of them go on to become home owners within 10 years of their graduation.
“They’re the heroes. They’re the ones who get up every day, take care of precious children, get them to school, do homework, and then go to school themselves,” she said. “And most of them do hold down part time jobs as well. It’s a lot.”
Price hopes to see more parents in Muncie take part in the program next semester.
Support for the program comes from multiple organizations, including the Centerpoint Foundation and Ball State University.
Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu
