The story of Mercy Housing was launched in 1981 under the direction of the Omaha Mercy Sisters. This was initiated by Sr. Timothy Marie O’Roark. She served as a legal aid attorney working with families facing eviction from their homes. She witnessed the horrible conditions where they lived with little or no help in accessing affordable housing and alleviating the poverty affecting these families. She vowed, “We can do much better.” Sr. Timothy Marie appealed to the Sisters of Mercy of Omaha to adopt affordable housing as a sponsored ministry. The Sisters accepted the challenge. Mercy Housing is a non-profit organization working to build a more humane world where communities are healthy and all can develop their full potential.
Our first contribution to Mercy Housing was a donation of an interest free loan of $25,000 to the Mercy Loan Fund on March 26, 2009. The Mercy Loan Fund is a major financial component of Mercy Housing. In 2018, after some financial discernment, it was decided to convert this loan into a direct gift to the Mercy Loan Fund.
For the last several years, the U.S. Province, now a Region since 2019, has been discerning its future as the numbers of Sisters has been continually decreasing. Sisters have returned to Ireland for retirement or to God’s “everlasting retirement.” It has become clear to us, that indeed our earthly treasure is richly blessed and that God continues to fill the jar even as we empty it. The major focus of our discernment was how to continue the Mercy Ministry into the future in a permanent way? What would our legacy to the U.S.A. be after we have left the country?
In 2017, we took the bold step to decide where we would like our treasure to go. We desired that the legacy of our Mercy ministry would continue long after we are dead and gone. We allocated a specific investment fund and called it our “Ministry Legacy Fund.” We continue to contribute to needy causes as they arise, and still our treasure continues to grow. We attribute this to God’s goodness, the good stewardship of our Sisters over the years, the generosity of the American people, and the fact that we never owned any schools, colleges, hospitals, or sponsored ministries. We have always been able to support ourselves and care for others.
As the Sisters discerned together we all recognized that the needs were huge, but we focused on two main areas; Education and Housing. We explored many different areas of need such as early education, after-school tutoring, English as a second language, job training skills, integration of newly arrived immigrants, transition of persons released from prison, creation of safe communities to support youth and family life. We included health care and hospitality for the sick and elderly, routine health checks, counseling for youth and families, support for young families and leadership training. Laudato Si was a major guiding factor in our discernment.
To help us become familiar with the work of Mercy Housing we had visits with Lillian Murphy rsm, RIP, along with her successor, Jane Graf. They shared personal testimonials as given by some of the residents and broadened out the scope of our understanding of the work. We studied, asked questions and came to realize the Mercy Housing with all its aspects of varying services checked off all the ministries for which we held a passion.
An integral part of any Mercy Housing Project is the development of leaders among the residents themselves and the youth. The Mercy Housing community function a little like a community or town. As people transition into Mercy Housing they are supported by a variety of services made available to them. There are visits from a variety of professionals, an integral part of the ministry. There are classes not only from educators, but health and welfare specialists as well.
Another aspect to our choosing Mercy Housing as the beneficiary is geography. Our Congregation of Mercy, has worked over 67 years in the USA, serving in 12 different states. Our hearts have been stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific. We couldn’t select a charity bound to a particular area of the USA. Mercy Housing functions throughout the US and is adding more sites all the time.
Map of Mercy Housing States
We noted that the values of Mercy Housing went beyond just physical housing to the development of the whole person. After careful discernment, we chose Mercy Housing — Live in Hope as the proposed recipient of our Ministry Legacy Fund. During our 2018/2019 pre-Chapter meetings, the Sisters overwhelmingly supported this decision and commitment. Our commitment supports the founding values of Mercy Housing: racial equity, diversity and inclusion.
Mercy Housing began with the initial investment of $500,000. Six other religious women’s communities also contributed financially, or with donations of properties. Now the U.S. Region of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy collaborates with these religious women along with many other sponsors. You can read about them on the website. The beginnings sound so much like the founding of the House of Mercy on Baggot Street by Catherine McAuley. The heart is touched; then there is action.
Ismael Guerrero
Ismael Guerrero, CEO and President, provides us with updates and reports. Just recently we shared in a Zoom call with Ismael and Jennifer Covert. (Director of Mission and Values Integration). We were delighted to hear of new housing projects in Oregon and in California, the acquisition of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, and Villa de Vida Poway, brand new housing for adults with developmental disabilities We thank God for all the good that comes to us and our ability to share in the motto of Mercy Housing, “Moving Forward Together.” Catherine must be very proud of her Sisters! And the Legacy goes on………Please treat yourself to reading more about Mercy Housing here.
Susan DeGuide rsm
US Region
