Community Care

No matter how independent, everyone has needed help, advice or support at one time in their life. This is why Community Care was created — to offer continued connection and opportunity for our young people even after they’ve left our full-time care.

Community Care (formerly AfterCare) invites all former residents of Mercy Home and their families with membership in a program that offers ongoing support, encouragement, and resources. It ensures that those who have transitioned from our residential programs can always rely on their extended Mercy Home family to help them succeed far into the future and it connects the families of our young people with resources throughout the community.

Since 1981, Mercy Home has offered continued care and connection for former residents and families through its Community Care program.

Our program continues to increase the number of support it provides, seeking to provide members with any tools they may need to build successful futures. The supports we offer include:

Get in Touch

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CALL US:

(312) 738-7550

Vocational

Searching for a job
Creating a resume
Employment Workshops

Educational

Scholarships
Tutors
Community Educational Resources
Advocacy in schools

Housing

Housing grants
Apartment searches
Community resources
Tenant rights

Financial Literacy

Searching for a job
Creating a resume
Employment Workshops

Social Support

Relationship counseling
Networking
Life Skills
Spirituality

Health and Wellbeing

Therapy
Wellness planning
Nutrition

Passion Plan

Our dedicated care managers work with each member on a “passion plan,” which is designed to break down large life goals into smaller, tangible steps that clearly illustrate each young person’s progress. The Community Care Philosophy reflects a strengths-based approach that influences every aspect of support that Community Care provides; those strengths that every Community Care member possesses can be especially evident once the Strengths Assessment is completed.

The assessment form helps organize the current, ideal, and previous situations across seven domains of life: daily living situation, financial/insurance, vocational/educational, social supports, health, leisure/recreational and spirituality.  From that, together pick out priorities and transform them into specific goals by creating a Passion Plan.  Each Passion Plan is designed to provide a way to break down goals into concrete smaller goals that can be more readily accomplished.

Members

More than 428 former residents, as well as many of their family members and loved ones, remain connected to a supportive, extended Mercy Home family through this program.