The Empowerment Academy in Owensboro opened in April with four residents and the capacity to serve 34 youth.(Lisa Autry)For high school students and young adults, housing is foundational to continuing their education and becoming self-sufficient. But thousands of Kentucky youth are considered homele ss or housing insecure. In Daviess County, a new nonprofit is working to ensure the most vulnerable don't fall through the cracks. On a Thursday evening this spring, a group of young adults made dinner at the new Empowerment Academy in Owensboro. "We're making a nacho bar, build your own, everything you could possibly want to put on nachos," said Beth Criswell-Jordan, the academy's operations manager.The Empowerment Academy is located next to Owensboro's English Park, overlooking the Ohio River.(Lisa Autry)The Empowerment Academy is a residential facility for young adults ranging in age from 18-25 who are homeless or lack permanent housing.Jacob Martin, 23, browns ground beef for dinner at the Empowerment Academy in Owensboro.(Lisa Autry)Jacob Martin, 23, was at the stove browning ground beef in a skillet. "I have to cook it 'til it's not pink, drain the meat when it's cooked enough because there's a lot of grease," Martin said.Isaiah Hernandez, 22, helps prepare dinner with fellow residents of the Empowerment Academy.(Lisa Autry)Isaiah Hernandez chopped ingredients for guacamole. "I wish I had grapes. Ever tried grape guacamole?," he asked. "Sweet, salty, just an amazing combination." A decade in the making, the Empowerment Academy opened in April with four residents and the capacity to serve 34. Criswell-Jordan said residents of the Empowerment Academy prepare dinner together at least once a week. "For me, I know when I was growing up, meal time was really important," she told WKU Public Radio. "Here, we do function in many ways like a family. A lot of times, I have really great discussion with the students and learn a lot about them while we're doing food prep or eating, so it's just something I really value." The academy is housed in a 10,000-square-foot dormitory-style building next to English Park, overlooking the Ohio River, and is a first-of-its-kind facility in Kentucky. Plaques hang above each bedroom with the names of donors who contributed to an "adopt a resident campaign." The rooms feature two twin beds with colorful quilts made by the Bellevue Baptist Quilters in Owensboro. Each bedroom has secure key fob access.The Empowerment Academy features 18 bedrooms, laundry, study, and recreational space.(Lisa Autry)The home also features a laundry room on each floor, a library/study space, and a bonus room for puzzles, art, movies and video games. "I check on the camera, peep in, and that's all I see. So I'm like, 'That's wholesome,'" Criswell said, with a laugh. "I want them to have a space where they can be comfortable and lounge out." Residents also have a 9 pm nightly curfew. According to a homeless count by the Kentucky Department of Education, 48 young people in Daviess County, pre-K through high school, were considered housing insecure or homeless during the 2024-25 school year. Vicki Quisenberry, chair of the Empowerment Academy Board of Directors, suspects that number is higher. "The problem with those homeless counts is that it's a snapshot of one day," she explained. "You may a family that registers their kids for school and they have a place to live, but six weeks later, they don't." The Empowerment Academy partners with local high schools to receive referrals of students who have turned 18 who don't have a permanent place to call home. The nonprofit also considers young adults from local shelters who have been thoroughly vetted. The pathways into youth homelessness are different from adult homelessness which often begins with an eviction or job loss. Youth are sometimes asked to leave home when they turn 18. Others are kicked out for teen pregnancy or identifying as LGBTQ+. Some age out of foster care, and others voluntarily leave an unstable home life. For Isaiah Hernandez, his journey to the Empowerment Academy started in Colorado where he was raised in a strict military household. "I got kicked out from my parents' house because I did something stupid," he said. "I was on the streets in Colorado for about five months. It was getting closer and closer to winter and I was sleeping in a park." Hernandez was 20, homeless, and unmotivated. "Grandma called one day and said I have a spare room if you want to come down here and I said, 'Sure, why not?'" That's how he ended up in Owensboro. When that living arrangement fell through, Hernandez began staying at the city's St. Benedict's shelter. Since moving to the Empowerment Academy, he says his life is calm and has direction. In August, he'll begin studying mechanics at Owensboro Community and Technical College. As the day-to-day person in charge at the Empowerment Academy, Beth Criswell-Jordan helps Daviess County youth like Hernandez launch into education, work, and self-sufficiency. He part makes her relatable to these kids. "When I was in high school, I couch surfed through my last semester. Sometimes I slept across the front seat of my truck," she recalled. "Some of these kids are living that way. That's a hard way to live when you're trying to finish high school. It's hard to think about college and your future when you're worried about where you're going to sleep and what you're going to eat."Beth Criswell-Jordan manages the day-to-day operations of the Empowerment Academy that includes teaching basic life skills to its residents, ages 18-25.(Lisa Autry)Criswell-Jordan said she's working her "dream job." She's the mother hen of the outfit, managing day-to-day operations while teaching independent living skills to the residents-everything from cooking and cleaning to budgeting and building a resume. "We're teaching them how to fish," Quisenberry said. The goal of the nonprofit is early intervention before youth homelessness becomes chronic adult homelessness. "When that stable foundation is not in place, it has impacts on future educational opportunities and workforce participation, said Adrienne Bush, executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky. "As folks get older, we see the impact on their health too." "When you look at what can cause homelessness in adults, so much of it has to do with having lost hope at some point in their life. Life just deals them a really bad hand," said Quisenberry. "We're hoping we can put a wild card in their hand that gives them the opportunity to get their education, live in a safe environment, not worry where their next meal is coming from, not worry about where they can get a shower or do their laundry. Sometimes just addressing those basic life needs is all the encouragement someone needs." The academy is run mostly through private donations with the help of state, corporate, and foundation grants. "It's been a long haul. We were determined to not only do this without debt, but also make sure we had two-and-a-half to three years of funding in the bank so that we could take care of residents as they come in," Quisenberry said. "Now we're working on fundraising plans for three years now." Quisenberry estimated the annual cost per resident is $10,000, in addition to employing two full-time staff members and a part-time employee. Local businesses, individuals, and churches have donate food, products, and services to get the Empowerment Academy off the ground, proving it takes a village to raise children, and sometimes, young adults. Copyright 2026 WKU Public Radio ...read more read less