When asked what she would like to be when she grows up, 14-year-old Ana doesn’t even hesitate. “An actress or an owner of a beauty salon,” she answers. But before coming to Mercy Home for Boys & Girls, Ana knew she would not have had much chance for fulfilling those dreams.
Life in her mother’s house was difficult. It seemed like at any moment someone would erupt into a yelling match and, as Ana remembers, she always found herself in trouble with her mother.
It wasn’t long before Ana stopped doing her homework in favor of spending time with her friends. And she even started breaking the rules her mother set for her and sneaking out in the middle of the night. Soon, Ana’s once-good grades began to drop drastically.
Wanting to keep her daughter safe, Ana’s mother brought up the idea of Mercy Home. “At first I refused,” said Ana. “I didn’t want to come. But then I decided it would be good for me because my grades were dropping and I needed to change my attitude and get away from the problems at home.”
Now that Ana is living at Mercy Home, school is, as she puts it, everything she ever hoped for. At Mercy Home, Ana found the structure and discipline she needed to turn her life around—and to take her role as a student seriously again.
Education, along with food, shelter and emotional support, is the most essential component of the care we provide our children. Our education team takes great care to place each child in the school best suited to address their individual needs—and after school, tutoring is made available to each and every student.
“I think school is important because I really want to have a good career in life,” says Ana. “I want to do well and I want to be able to educate my children one day, too.”
Outside of the classroom, Ana is thriving in dance classes, and she also enjoys volleyball and swimming. She’s making good friends at Mercy Home who understand her background and support her drive and determination in school.
And though many of our young women come to feel like sisters after their time within our care, Ana actually has her sister living in our program with her.
“I love it,” Ana says of having a sibling at Mercy Home. “It makes me feel closer to home, and not at all alone.”
When they are able, Ana and her sister have dinner together once each week. Unfortunately, with their busy schedules, this has become less frequent. But when it does happen, it gives Ana something to look forward to, and a familiar face to comfort her in case of a particularly hard day at school.
Ana, like so many of our boys and girls, is grateful for the opportunity she’s been given to heal, change and grow in a safe and structured environment. Ana has a hard time imagining what her life would be like had she never come to Mercy Home.
“I would be failing in school and hanging out with the wrong group of people. My attitude would just get worse and I would be fighting all the time with my family,” she says. “I like Mercy Home…and I feel thankful.”
If you know a child like Ana who could benefit from the guidance and safety of a secure Home, visit Mercy Home’s referral page, or call 312-738-7590. Mercy Home welcomes referrals of young people in need from throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
