Winter Weather Doesn’t Slow Down Activity at Mercy Home

February 11, 2026

If you’re native to Chicago, or have ever visited in January of February, you may be familiar with terms like “lake effect snow,” “wind chill,” and “the Hawk”–the locals’ loving nickname for the icy blast of wind that howls inland from across the frigid waters of Lake Michigan. 

Our winters make Chicagoans a hearty people. So even when an Arctic temperature plunge grabs hold, we take it in stride and adjust as necessary. Our coworkers at Mercy Home are no exception, so when blustery, dangerous conditions outside forced the cancellation of class for many of our young people this January,  our coworkers were ready with a plan to create structure, continuity, and safety for our young people.  

“We found out pretty late in the afternoon [on Thursday] that we would be off school,” said Ariana Rivera, a program manager at the Home.  Despite the last-minute change, coworkers adjusted the schedule to ensure the day remained productive and supportive. Staffing remained consistent, with day coordinators on campus from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and program managers also on site.  

The day began as usual, with overnight and day coordinators waking the boys, helping them take their medications, and the youth completing their hygiene routines before eating breakfast. 

“They do a good job of eating together as a community in the kitchen,” Rivera said. Day Coordinator Noah Arnold, who stepped into the role in 2024, said planning for snow days begins with coordination across teams, particularly with the Educational and Career Resources (ECR) coworkers. Because Mercy Home serves youth with a wide range of academic abilities and needs, snow days often become opportunities for individualized support.  

“We prioritize school as the biggest thing,” Arnold said. “With a lot of our boys it’s a spectrum. Some of them are doing great in school while others aren’t doing as well and have severe deficits and challenges.”

 Coworkers built in two hours of structured study time, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Youth who were behind academically worked on missing or upcoming assignments, while others focused on longer-term projects. Coworkers provided crosswords and brain teasers as well. 

Because some of the kids had already gone home on pass for the weekend on Thursday, Rivera said there were fewer kids in her program.  “We were able to be almost one-on-one with the kids,” Rivera said. “They asked us questions and tapped into us if they were stuck on something.” 

Learning also extended beyond traditional assignments. Some of the younger boys watched the film “Till,” a movie about Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy from Chicago who was murdered while visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi. His death in 1955, and his mother’s insistence on an open-casket funeral, forced the country to face the brutality of racism and helped fuel the Civil Rights movement.   

“We ensured that they had the proper winter gear,” Rivera said. “They had hats and gloves on. We made sure they weren’t going to be outside for too long because of the physical problems it can cause.” 

While planned days off, such as holidays or weekends, allow for more enrichment outings such as a Bulls Game or trip to a waterpark, Mercy Home tries to maintain as much of a normal routine as possible during sudden snow days. They are a great example of how our Home uses these days as an opportunity to provide stability and continue learning even when plans change.