January 24, 2025

When young people arrive at Mercy Home, many of them tell stories of having to grow up too quickly. From an early age, they have been forced to take on adult burdens that affect their ability to do well in school or prepare for successful futures. That was the situation Julian was in. 

Julian didn’t like telling other people about where he lived. And he never invited friends over. 

He didn’t want anyone to find out that he shared a tiny, one-bedroom apartment with his parents, older sister, and her son. The apartment was old, and it often didn’t have power or running water because his parents couldn’t afford to pay the bills. His dad was rarely sober—and rarely left the couch. 

In addition to being embarrassed about his home life, Julian also carried the tremendous burden of trying to care for his family. His mom worked several jobs and wasn’t home enough to clean the house or cook meals. If Julian didn’t grocery shop, there would be no food in the apartment. And sometimes his sister would stay out all night with her friends, leaving Julian to care for her son. 

With so many responsibilities, Julian didn’t have time for the things a boy his age should be focused on, such as doing homework or spending time with friends. He didn’t get good grades because there was no time for homework. Sometimes he was so tired at school that he would fall asleep in class. His teachers quickly wrote him off as a bad student, someone who wasn’t interested in learning. 

But even though Julian was doing so poorly in school, he had dreams of going to college and becoming a lawyer. As he got older, he began to lose hope that dream would ever come true—he didn’t know how he would ever catch up in school, much less get into a good college. 

Julian hit a low point when he failed so many classes that he had to repeat his sophomore year of high school. He considered dropping out of school altogether to get a job and support his family. He knew his family needed the help and didn’t see the point of trying to be successful academically anymore. 

But then a guidance counselor at school called Julian into her office to talk about things that were affecting his performance at school. He felt he had no choice but to explain how he was responsible for so many things at home that there was simply no time for Schoolwork. 

He was worried that the guidance counselor would be angry at him for not doing well in school. But instead, she told him about Mercy Home—a place where he wouldn’t have to worry about caring for a home and could instead focus on his grades and just being a kid. 

At first, Julian wasn’t interested. He felt too guilty about not being there to help his mom to consider living at Mercy Home. But when he told his mom about his conversation with the guidance counselor a few days later, she encouraged him to give it more thought. Julian realized that the only way he could turn things around was to give Mercy Home a try. After a visit to our Home, he decided to move in. 

Since coming to Mercy Home, Julian feels like a burden has been lifted from his shoulders. He has been working hard with his tutors to catch up on all he missed in school. He has built friendships with the other boys, and even had the opportunity to get involved in extracurricular activities at school. 

Mercy Home has also provided support to Julian’s family. By helping with expenses and groceries, Julian’s family has a much safer and healthy place to live. And most importantly, for the first time, Julian has been allowed to simply be a kid. With all the adult burdens taken off his shoulders, he can focus on building a bright future. 

Coming to Mercy Home has been truly life-changing for Julian, and it is because of the support of friends like you! Thank you for your friendship to our kids. 

Please note: Because we care deeply about protecting our children’s privacy, the names and certain identifying details in this story have been changed.