I recently joined the Clinical Advisory Board and attended my first meeting earlier this month. I was immediately impressed with the the way the director and the counselors and social workers there combined a deep sense of caring with a high degree of professionalism. The MERCY employees and director know the landscape of available services, know the population they serve and know how to collaborate with other professionals to bring about the best results possible. It was truly inspiring to take part in this results-oriented meeting.
I tell my friends that MERCY is the perfect charitable agency. It would be compassionate and useful enough if we just took in homeless women and their children, and gave them a place to stay. But that would just change their environment. We want to change their lives. We provide a nice place to stay but, in return, we demand that our moms go through parenting classes and life skills classes and drug/alcohol/mental health counseling, GED classes, job training ... - whatever is necessary to turn their chaotic lives into structured, productive ones. We have been phenomenally successful in ending the cycle of homelessness and failure for our moms and, especially, for their kids. We have a solid board and a great, caring staff. It is the most time-consuming, emotion-wringing work I've ever loved doing.