Kathleen Miller: Building a Safe Haven: Inside Living Grace Homes

In this episode, Cheryl Knowlton and Kathleen Miller discuss:

• Kathleen’s personal calling and leadership

• Mission and impact of Living Grace Homes

• Intake process and emergency rescue stories

• Education, parenting, and empowerment programs

• Campus expansion and $4M fundraising effort

 

Key Takeaways:

• Kathleen Miller didn’t start as a nonprofit expert; she became one by answering a repeated community need and allowing Living Grace Homes to be the vehicle for that, and the organization is essentially an expression of her calling to be “somebody” for pregnant and parenting young women who have nowhere safe to go.

• Under Kathleen’s leadership, Living Grace Homes has grown from a single house opened “on a wing and a prayer” to a multi-property effort poised to triple its capacity. 

• The program design, intake, 30-day probation, and pillars of legal, medical, benefits, education, and employment mirror Kathleen’s belief that charity alone isn’t enough. 

• When emergencies hit, a grandma hitting a pregnant granddaughter, a teen sleeping in her mom’s car, Kathleen’s response shows the culture she’s created at Living Grace Homes: immediate, practical, and personal. 

• Kathleen’s long view on education, trades, and breaking generational trauma is baked into every class, partnership, and policy at Living Grace Homes, as seen by the campus expansion and $4M fundraising goal that aren’t just about more beds; they’re about scaling her vision of transformed lives, not just rescued moments.

 

“You can’t save them all… we do one starfish at a time, and pour in as much love and information and confidence as we can.”
- Kathleen Miller

About the guest, Kathleen Miller:

Kathleen Miller, LMFT, is a Marriage and Family Therapist at Miller Counseling with over 15 years of experience working with crisis pregnancies, particularly among youth, to promote healthy outcomes for mothers and babies. She earned her Master’s degree from Regis University, where her studies were focused on counseling and developmental support for residents of Living Grace Home, the nonprofit she founded in 2007. Her clinical specialties include pregnant teens, post-abortive women and men, and individuals living with Emotional Intensity Disorder (Borderline Personality Disorder).

Through Living Grace Homes, Kathleen has supported more than 600 young women experiencing homelessness, trauma, and unplanned pregnancies, helping them complete their education, gain employment, and move from dependency to empowerment. Known for her hands-on, compassionate approach, she has served not only as Executive Director but also as a trusted “house parent,” providing stability, structure, and care. In recognition of her impact, Living Grace Homes was named Henderson’s Outstanding Nonprofit of the Year in 2019, and Kathleen was nominated as a Remarkable Woman for her dedication to creating safe havens and second chances for young women and their children.

 

Connect with Kathleen Miller:

Website: https://livinggracehomes.org/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleen-miller-3386a36/

 

 

CONNECT WITH CHERYL:

Website: www.cherylknows.com 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwvWKXBC6fKn1dLGY11hxIg 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theknowltonteam/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylknowlton/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherylknows/ 

Show notes by Podcastologist: Hanz Jimuel Alvarez

 

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.