Mercy Support Services

What is the core mission of your organization? Through Christ, we empower our neighbors who are circumstantially in need to strive for a stable and sustainable future. We provide Self-sufficiency programs that ensure accountability and measurable results.

How do you measure impact and success in your programs? Mercy has program staff and volunteers that are thoroughly trained and equipped to coach our program participants with life skills, education, life coaching, and financial training.  These staff and volunteers meet with our program participants weekly to communicate, educate, and track all forward movement to ensure goals are being set, met and understood.  This allows for measurable results as our program participants make healthy improvements in all aspects of their lives.

What are your biggest fundraising or outreach challenges? Our biggest fundraising challenge is to keep up with the increasing demand of what we provide.  Every week we have to turn away families facing or living homeless because we are at capacity.  If more local individuals and businesses understood the low income housing crisis in our area, and had a heart for these situations, we could expand our reach and make an even bigger generational impact.  It is hard to get ‘in the door’ and have conversations with new businesses and donors, because they don’t witness first hand the amount of families suffering.

How do you build long-term relationships with donors and supporters? We communicate with our donors and supporters regularly, in many different ways. We love our donors and supporters and try to keep them updated with success stories as well as value them at appreciation events and through communication.

Can you share a story that shows your mission in action? Imagine a woman in her 30s who can’t promote at work because she never graduated high school.  With Mercy’s help, she received her GED and is on a new journey towards financial independence.  Or a family living in a hotel, living paycheck to paycheck.  With Mercy’s help and some time to excel, they were able to buy a house and are now living independently.  Picture a woman living in her car, pregnant.  With Mercy’s help, that baby has a room and a crib- and a mother that is learning and reaching goals that will bring her out of poverty and towards a self-sufficient independent life.  That is what Mercy does, every single day.

What keeps you motivated in this work? I desperately needed help once and there was a man that gave everything for me, even though I didn’t deserve it.  This man actually gave everything for everyone, which tells me other people are worth it too, not just me.  If at the end of my life, I know I have helped others during my time on Earth and given God the Glory, I will be able to rest.  That is what keeps me motivated.