It may seem to be a given that one of the keys to a successful life is a good education. But for many of Mercy Home’s children, they grew up in homes where that was not a priority at all.

That was the case with Maya, who grew up in a crowded apartment with many younger brothers and sisters. Her mother worked so many jobs that she relied on Maya to take on many adult responsibilities from a young age, such as caring for her siblings and managing the household.

Doing all this felt like a full-time job to Maya. The last thing on her mind was homework when she was exhausted from cooking meals or making sure her siblings did their homework.

Despite her mother’s number of jobs, money was always still tight at their house. Everyone lived off food that wasn’t exactly healthy: things like boxed macaroni and cheese or, if money was really tight, just bags of chips they could buy for a dollar at the corner store.

Eventually, Maya decided she wanted to drop out of school and get a full-time job to help support her family. She was skipping school so often that it was hard to see the point of going anymore. Between working and her duties around the house, there wasn’t time to think about education.

Maya got a job working at a small convenience store near her home. The hours were long, and the pay wasn’t good, but she comforted herself with the fact that she was helping her family.

Over time, Maya became friendly with a coworker, an older lady who took an interest in Maya’s life. Eventually, Maya began to confide in her about the stress and pressure she felt at home. She knew her whole family needed support, but she didn’t know where to find it.

Fortunately, Maya’s coworker had heard about Mercy Home at her local parish. She encouraged Maya to look into it as she thought they could help.

After looking up Mercy Home on her sister’s school computer, Maya was very interested in learning more. She met with one of our coworkers, who told her about how we could give her the support she needed to get back on track, and the ways our Home could provide support to her family.

Soon after, Maya moved into Mercy Home. Though she was nervous about leaving her family, she knew that it was the only way for her to have a brighter future to look forward to.