Jefferson and Family Scholar House Partner to Provide Kiosks to Help Students

Students at Jefferson Community and Technical College now have another way to find the help they need to tackle life's challenges.

Family Scholar House is partnering with Jefferson to install kiosks on several campuses to provide easy access to the MyKy.Info web-based app. The app, a statewide expansion of the former LouieConnect.com, helps students find free community services across Kentucky if they're seeking a needed resource or experiencing a difficult time. Users remain anonymous but can filter the results by gender, age, family status, or other demographics. The app provides information about a service's location and hours, the specific resources available, and eligibility requirements.

Though students can access MyKY.info anywhere and anytime on a phone, computer, or tablet, the free-standing kiosk gives those without access to smartphones or hand-held technology a way to use the web app.

On Monday, July 11, Family Scholar House did a live demonstration of how to use the kiosk currently located in Smith Library on the Downtown Campus. Additional kiosks will soon be installed at the Bullitt, Shelby, Southwest, and Technical campuses. Family Scholar House hopes to have more than 150 MyKy.Info kiosks available across Kentucky by July 2023.

The kiosks are part of Family Scholar House's efforts to continue its mission to provide wraparound services for students to keep them in school despite life and financial challenges.

"The beauty of the whole system is that it allows people to get what they need when they need it very anonymously," Cathe Dykstra, president and CEO of Family Scholar House, said.

"We know our students have jobs and families and all of the life stressors that anyone else has with the addition of trying to get their education. To help students with that added layer of stress, we work with partners like Family Scholar House to take care of as many needs as possible so they can focus on their education and complete their degree," Laura Smith, vice president of student affairs, said.

MyKy.Info is offered in English, Spanish, and soon, French. The app also connects users to crisis lines and safe places, or users can request live help through the app to talk to available specialists at Family Scholar House's Trager Response Center for professional assistance.

Read more about the kiosks on WLKY or on the Courier Journal.