Sisters part of new education service

Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand are collaborating with the Family Scholar House of Louisville to bring a new service to Dubois County to fight poverty through education.

The effort, called Family Scholar House, was begun in Louisville in 1995 to end the cycle of poverty by giving single-parent students the support they need to earn a college degree and attain a viable independent lifestyle.

Family Scholar House started operations in Dubois County recently by opening an office in Monastery Immaculate Conception, the home of the Sisters of St. Benedict of Ferdinand. Sister Barbara Catherine Schmitz of the monastery is the on-site staff person beginning the program’s implementation.

The program seeks to provide academic advising, case management, family support, community activities, connection to other resources, peer support, and eventually, housing, for qualifying single-parent students. It predominantly serves women, often single mothers, who are unemployed or underemployed and desire additional educational and career opportunities.

(Read more on our web site.)