A safe and stable home is crucial for a child to succeed.

But without it, things can quickly fall apart. That’s what Elijah was faced with while growing up. His home life was chaotic, and he never knew a normal childhood. As a result, he was struggling when he came to Mercy Home.

Elijah’s home life was not traditional, to say the least. His father was never in the picture, and his mother died of a drug overdose when he was very young. The only family Elijah had left was an adult half-sister. She raised him despite being very young herself and having limited parenting skills.

Life wasn’t easy. Elijah’s sister moved around a lot, and they often lived in run down, dirty apartments in dangerous neighborhoods. It was all they could afford. There was never enough food in the house. Sometimes his sister’s friends would move in to share rent, but they weren’t always the best people to have around. Some of them did drugs in the house, and others had ties with gangs.

His sister did her best, but she was not ready to be a parental figure to Elijah. She worked several jobs to make ends meet, but it was never enough. She couldn’t always be around to make sure Elijah was fed, had clean clothes, or did his homework. He fell behind in school, and there was nobody able to dedicate the time to helping him catch up.

As Elijah grew older, he became aware of the violence in his neighborhood. Many of the streets were controlled by gangs. More than once, Elijah witnessed shootings on his street. Thinking about leaving the house at all made him very anxious. He often ended up skipping school and staying home most of the time.

Finally, Elijah’s sister realized that this living situation was not working for her or Elijah. She wanted him to have a safer place to stay where he could receive the structure and support that a boy his age needed. After finding out about Mercy Home, she told Elijah about us. He couldn’t wait to move in!

When Elijah arrived at Mercy Home, he was a shy, nervous boy having a hard time in school and lacking confidence. He had a hard time speaking to the other boys and staff. He often struggled to even make eye contact. He asked why any of us would care about him when nobody else did.

It took some time, but we eventually began to see changes in Elijah. At first, the changes were small: he would say hello to others in the hallway or join in conversations with the other boys at dinner. But little by little, these small changes became big changes. Elijah worked hard to improve his grades, and went from failing nearly all of classes to getting Bs and Cs. He learned that he could depend on our coworkers to take care of him. He began to gain confidence in himself and his abilities. Elijah finally found a place where he felt safe.

Not a day goes by that I don’t remember your how crucial your prayers are for boys and girls just like Elijah. Because of you, we are able to provide a safe, loving Home to kids who desperately need it. Thank you!

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