Chicago is one of the great cities of the world, home to stunning architecture, renowned museums, and diverse cultures. It’s also home to some very complex problems. Away from the glitz and glamour of the downtown area, you will find communities that have been overwhelmed by poverty for decades. For the most part, these communities are on the South and West sides of the city.
Many of the children at Mercy Home enter our care from these communities. We are blessed to have friends who not only support our Home, but who work in these communities to make them stronger for our children when they return.
One such friend is the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. The McCormick Foundation generously supports our Learning and Development program, which empowers our coworkers to continue their professional development. Through this development, Mercy Home expands its therapeutic approach in providing evidenced-based care to youth and families who have experienced trauma.
Additionally, support provided by the McCormick Foundation ensures that our therapeutic model, the Mercy Model, is shared with other social work professionals and community-based organizations throughout Chicago.
There are a number of scenarios that lead kids to Mercy Home, such as abuse, neglect, poverty, housing instability, and community violence. Each child at Mercy Home is unique, and there is no one solution in treating the trauma they have experienced. That is why we take pride in being among today’s leaders in trauma-informed care and our array of approaches in helping children heal from their pasts. It’s thanks to the support of friends like the McCormick Foundation that we’re able to continually adapt our approach so that we can offer the best care to our kids.
The McCormick Foundation is named after Colonel Robert R. McCormick. Born in Chicago in 1880 to a family committed to civic engagement and community service, McCormick had many accomplishments throughout his life: he was alderman of the 21st Ward, he served in the Illinois National Guard and volunteered for duty in World War I, and he was publisher and editor of the Chicago Tribune for more than 40 years.
Following his death in 1955, the McCormick Foundation was founded to carry on his commitment to civic engagement and community service. Though the foundation has supported organizations both nationally and outside of the U.S., in the past five years the focus has shifted to their own backyard.
“This is where Col. McCormick lived and worked, and this is where the needs are extensive,” said Donald Cooke, senior vice president of philanthropy for the McCormick Foundation. “Our overall aim is to ensure that everybody in Chicago has access to the resources they need to succeed.”
In supporting Mercy Home, the McCormick Foundation helps provide care for many children who come from struggling communities. They also work directly in these communities as well.
“We try to partner with the neighborhoods of Englewood and Little Village,” Cooke said. “We have a presence there, always working with the local people, always hearing what their needs are.”
There is no easy solution to the problems that overwhelm Chicago’s struggling communities. High rates of unemployment and lack of opportunity contribute to the crime, gang-culture, and violence that devastate communities. These are some of the issues the McCormick Foundation addresses in supporting local organizations.
“We do a whole range of things from violence prevention work, to longer-term community building,” Cooke said. “We want to help build the strength within the communities, including economic development, and the South and West sides are where that work is needed most.”
As we continue to provide care for children who have been impacted by the challenges of these communities, we are honored to have the McCormick Foundation by our side. Their hands-on approach in solving these complex problems is inspiring, and working together, we can create the change Chicago desperately needs.
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