Mercy Home For Boys And Girls Chicago

Why Your Support Matters

Here at Mercy Home, we rely on support from our many friends and benefactors to care for our kids. In fact, we are nearly 100% privately funded. Fr. Scott Donahue reaches out to a variety of generous supporters each year to ensure that we can continue providing the very best resources to the young people entrusted to our care.

If you would like more information about Mercy Home, or would like to schedule a visit, please call 312-738-7560.

How Its People Help

While residential care is a large part of what Mercy Home does, programs such as Friends First and AfterCare extend these efforts out into the community. Friends First functions like Big Brothers Big Sisters with trained mentors helping individuals in impoverished communities. AfterCare offers guidance to students who have gone on to college or other post-secondary education, as well as caregivers.

Mercy Home does not take government funding, primarily so it can continue to helps kids who would otherwise age out of the system.

Once youre part of the Mercy Home family, youre always part of the family, he says.

In pursuit of its mission, Mercy Home has received strong support from Huntington. The bank has supported its annual Graduates Luncheon, which raises the resources needed to provide youth with an education.

How We Help Kids

Mercy Home has expanded quite a bit since the 1800s! We now offer a variety of services to young men, women, and their families.Mercy Homes residential care program provides abused, neglected, and abandoned young people with food, shelter, medical care, therapeutic support, and academic and vocational guidance opportunities.

Our Friends First mentoring program provides caring, supportive mentors for at-risk kids in the community.

After our young people leave our direct care, we continue to provide support. Community Care continues to work with former residents and who have moved out of full-time residential care and their family members. Additionally, Community Care operates a supportive housing program for our former residents.

Additionally, our Admissions team helps provide guidance to young people who seek help whether or not Mercy Home is the best solution for their individual needs.

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Office Of Catholic Schools

The Office of Catholic Schools operates, manages, and supports diocesan and Catholic primary and secondary schools. Catholic education in the Chicago area began on June 3, 1844 with the opening of a boys’ school. Chicago parochial schools served various ethnic groups, including Irish, , , and , French, , , , , , and . Many local nuns living in convents established and operated Catholic schools.

The school construction boom ended when Cardinal , archbishop at the time, decided to limit construction of Catholic schools in Lake County and suburban areas in Cook County. Due to changes in demographics, the archdiocese has since closed more than half of its urban schools since 1966.

Between 1984 and 2004, the Office of Catholic Schools closed 148 schools and 10 school sites. An August 27, 2015, article in the refers to the Archdiocese of Chicago Office of Catholic Schools as the largest private school system in the United States. At the outset of the 2020/21 academic year, the archdiocese ran 160 elementary schools and three high schools. An additional eight Catholic elementary schools and 28 Catholic high schools that are not archdiocesan-run are located within the Archdiocese of Chicago. As of 2015, the Superintendent of Catholic Schools is Jim Rigg, Ph.D.

In January 2018, the Archdiocese announced the closure of five of its schools. In January 2020, the Archdiocese announced the permanent closure of five of its other schools.

New Ridgeland Property Secured

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls celebrates its 125th anniversary by expanding its services to aftercare members and their families through its supportive housing program. Work begins on rehabilitating a donated, vacant apartment building in Chicagos South Shore neighborhood that will provide safe, affordable, transitional housing when it opens the following year.

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Mercy Home For Boys And Girls Mission Of Our Lady Of Mercy

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls was founded in 1887 in temporary quarters above a Catholic library in the shadows of the Board of Trade Building on LaSalle St. to serve the growing numbers of homeless runaways flocking to the Chicago area. In 1889, then-president Fr. Dennis Mahoney scraped together a modest down payment and purchased a private residence for the boys at what is our current location on Jackson Boulevard. Mercy Home served homeless boys through our residential program for decades. Over time, Mercy Home’s services evolved to address the changing needs of our youth. Therapy and counseling became an integral component of our care in response to the traumas and abuse our children faced. In 1981, Mercy Home addressed an overwhelming need by establishing our AfterCare program. AfterCare provides support services to our children after they leave our direct care and offers youth a life-long connection to the home. By 1987, Mercy Home began accepting girls at our newly established Girls Campus in the Beverle

Roman Catholic Archdiocese Of Chicago

The Archdiocese of Chicago is an ecclesiastical territory or of the located in , in the United States. It was established as a in 1843 and elevated to an archdiocese in 1880. It serves the more than 2.2 million Catholics in and counties in the state of , an area of 1,411 square miles . The archdiocese is divided into six vicariates and 31 deaneries.

was appointed Archbishop of Chicago in 2014 ” rel=”nofollow”> Cardinal in 2016) by , and is assisted by six episcopal vicars, who are each responsible for a vicariate . The parish for the archdiocese, , is in the area of the for the diocese, . The Archdiocese of Chicago is the of the Province of Chicago. Its are the other Catholic dioceses in : Belleville, Joliet, Peoria, Rockford, and Springfield.

, Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 to 1996, was arguably one of the most prominent figures in the Church in the United States in the post- era, rallying progressives with his “seamless garment ethic” and his ecumenical initiatives.

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Mercy Home Celebrates Its Centennial With Expansion

After caring for boys for a century, Mercy Home has the opportunity to open a new home for young women in the former Walgreen family mansion on Chicagos South Side. That same year, our new Friends First mentoring program starts training adult volunteers to serve as role models to young people in need who live throughout the community.

Is Mercy Home A Scam

In this day and age, it can be difficult to tell if something you receive in the mail is a scam. But if you recently received a piece of mail from Fr. Scott Donahue at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, we can assure you that it is no scam! We would love to tell you more about the organization and why Fr. Scott sends you mail to ask you to help support our kids.

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Our Lady Of The Angels Fire

A fire occurred at on December 1, 1958, in the area of western Chicago. The school, operated by the Archdiocese, lost 92 students and three nuns in five classrooms on the second floor.

In 1959 the National Fire Protection Association’s report on the blaze blamed civic authorities and the Archdiocese of Chicago for “housing their children in fire traps” their words such as Our Lady of the Angels School. The report noted that both the Chicago School Board and the Archdiocese continued to allow some schools to be legally operated despite having inadequate fire safety standards.

Fr Edward Kelly Arrives

Fr. Edward Kelly arrived amidst the Great Depression. Kelly brought the Catholic Youth Organizations athletic program to the Homes gymnasium and basement, where a boxing ring was installed. During his 39 years as Mercy Homes president, he was dubbed the Apostle for Boys by the Chicago Daily News.

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Mercy Home For Boys & Girls Salary Faqs

The average Mercy Home for Boys & Girls hourly pay ranges from approximately $20 per hour for a Youth Care Worker to $20 per hour for a Youth Care Worker. Mercy Home for Boys & Girls employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package 4.0/5 stars.

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls employees attributed a compensation and benefits rating of 4.0/5 stars to their company. Read what they think about their salaries on our Compensation FAQ page for .

Entertainment And The Arts

The performs at , and is recognized as one of the best orchestras in the world. Also performing regularly at is the , a more diverse and multicultural counterpart to the CSO. In the summer, many outdoor concerts are given in and . , located 25 miles north of Chicago, is the summer home of the CSO, and is a favorite destination for many Chicagoans. The is home to the . The was founded by in 1956, and presents operas in .

Other live-music genre which are part of the city’s cultural heritage include , , , and . The city is the birthplace of and , and is the site of an influential . In the 1980s and 90s, the city was the global center for house and industrial music, two forms of music created in Chicago, as well as being popular for , , and . The city has been a center for culture, since the 1980s. A flourishing independent rock music culture brought forth Chicago . feature various acts, such as and the . A 2007 report on the Chicago music industry by the ranked Chicago third among metropolitan U.S. areas in “size of music industry” and fourth among all U.S. cities in “number of concerts and performances”.

Chicago contains a number of large, outdoor works by well-known artists. These include the , , and by , by , by , by , by , by , and the mosaic by .

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Your Support Of Mercy Home Is More Critical Today Than Ever Before

Each year, more and more children need care outside of their own homes simply to survive. Many no longer have a place that they can call home. At the same time, funding for not-for-profits that can provide children in need with a safe place to live is getting more and more scarce. Thats why your support of Mercy Home is more critical today than ever before.

A Permanent Home Purchased

Fr. Dennis Mahoney takes charge after Fr. Campbell falls ill. He raises a modest down payment to purchase a private residence at what is today 1140 W. Jackson Blvd., just west of downtown Chicago. The site has been the permanent home to Mercy Homes headquarters ever since, and its where our boys campus operates today.

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Mercy Home For Boys And Girls

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is an American privately funded childcare and residential home for abused, homeless and neglected children or children struggling with family issues.

What Mercy Home Does

Mercy Home was founded 130 years ago by two priests who came to Chicago from the East Coast and were concerned about the number of homeless boys in the city. They approached the bishop of Chicago, who gave his blessing for them to attempt to help, but added that he had no money to contribute to the cause. The priests persevered, found donors and Mercy Home began its noble work, which spreads across three campuses to help both boys and girls.

We take a young person into the program, we assist them, walk with them and wrap our arms around them until they are living independently and providing and contributing back into society, Donahue says.

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Culture And Contemporary Life

The city’s waterfront location and nightlife has attracted residents and tourists alike. Over a third of the city population is concentrated in the lakefront neighborhoods from in the north to in the south. The city has many upscale dining establishments as well as many ethnic restaurant districts. These districts include the neighborhoods, such as along 18th street, and La Villita along 26th Street the enclave of in the neighborhood , along South , immediately west of downtown , along Taylor Street in in in around Lawrence Avenue near in Uptown and the area, along in .

Downtown is the center of Chicago’s financial, cultural, governmental and commercial institutions and the site of and many of the city’s skyscrapers. Many of the city’s financial institutions, such as the and the , are located within a section of downtown called “”, which is an eight-block by five-block area of city streets that is encircled by elevated rail tracks. The term “The Loop” is largely used by locals to refer to the entire downtown area as well. The central area includes the , the , and the , as well as the Loop. These areas contribute famous , abundant restaurants, , , a for the , , , and .

contains the and the . The features the nation’s largest concentration of contemporary art galleries outside of New York City.

Mercy Home For Boys And Girls: Helping Homeless Youth

How Mercy Home helps Chicagos youth find a new path in life

Most of the young people who come to Mercy Home for Boys & Girls arrive in a fragile state. Their lives have been filled with so much trauma and despair that their trust has been violated, says the Rev. L. Scott Donahue, president and CEO of the Chicago nonprofit.

Many of these children have been physically, emotionally or sexually abused, Donahue says. One of the things we work on is to try to establish a sense of trust.

Its a labor of love Donahue has been committed to for 27 years.Once trust has been established and they really know that were here for them, miracles take place, Donahue says.

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Structure Of The Archdiocese

Administration

The Archdiocese Pastoral Centers are Archbishop Quigley Center, 835 North Rush Street and Cardinal Meyer Center, 3525 South Lake Park Avenue, both in Chicago.

Administrative Council to the Archbishop

Most Reverend Robert Casey, Vicar GeneralStephen Kanonik, Moderator of the CuriaDaniel Welter, ChancellorJeffrey S. Grob, Auxiliary Bishop, Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate IMark A. Bartosic, Auxiliary Bishop, Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate IIRobert J. Lombardo, CFR, Auxiliary Bishop, Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate IIIKevin M. Birmingham, Auxiliary Bishop, Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate IVAndrew P. Wypych, Auxiliary Bishop, Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate VJoseph N. Perry, Auxiliary Bishop, Episcopal Vicar, Vicariate VIThomas A. Baima, Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, University of St. Mary of the Lake / Mundelein SeminaryMichael M. Boland, Director, Catholic CharitiesBetsy Bohlen, Chief Financial OfficerGeorge Puszka, Director, FinanceChristopher J. Cannova, Department of Personnel ServicesPeter de Keartry, Interim-Director, Department of Human ServicesPeter Wojik, Director, Department of Parish Vitality and MissionJim Rigg, Superintendent, Archdiocesan Board of Catholic Education

Departments, agencies and offices include:

• Amate House
• Youth Ministry Office.