Aiden’s Journey to Hope

October 28, 2025

If you met Aiden today, you would probably never suspect he was someone who struggled in school. He is a bright young man, filled with confidence in his abilities.

But not too long ago, before he had ever heard of Mercy Home, he was in danger of failing all his classes and, even worse, never reaching his full potential. Moved from home to home by his substance-abusing mother, Aiden only knew instability, confusion, and fear. He never stayed in one school long enough to make friends, and he was always behind in his work. Aiden knew deep down that he wasn’t dumb but never had the opportunity to thrive in school.

Eventually, the situation reached a boiling point. Friends and family could no longer turn a blind eye to Aiden’s mother’s worsening drug addiction. Aiden’s mom took him states away to stay with a boyfriend. It soon became clear that this man was abusive. After months of enduring his physical and emotional abuse,

Aiden’s mom gathered up the strength to leave and returned to their hometown. Aiden’s aunt agreed to allow Aiden and his mother to live with her on one condition: Aiden’s mom got the help she needed. She agreed, and Aiden finally felt that things could be changing for the better. He moved into his aunt’s home, and his mother began a rehabilitation program.

Over the next several years, Aiden’s mother completed her rehabilitation program and vowed to make a better life for her son. She met a kind, loving man with a stable job and house in a safe neighborhood, and they got married. Aiden was so happy that he could hardly believe it. He was close with his stepfather, having never had a positive male adult in his life. He finally had the family life he had always longed for, and a father figure who cared about him.

But after a year of living with his stepfather, he was killed in a car accident. With the devastating news, Aiden’s mother relapsed and turned to drugs. Aiden was heartbroken. He stopped going to school and even stopped leaving the house. He felt powerless to help his mother and was lost in grief over the loss of his stepfather. But eventually, with his aunt’s help and guidance, he found his way to Mercy Home, where he found the stability, hope, and healing he needed to recover from the loss.

Aiden was heartbroken. He stopped going to school and even stopped leaving the house. He felt powerless to help his mother and was lost in grief over the loss of his stepfather.

Today, Aiden is in the top of his class, after receiving support from coworkers and tutors to raise his grades. And his mother is back in a substance abuse program, with hopes of turning her own life around. Aiden misses his stepfather and sometimes longs for the life he and his mother had before he died. But he knows he’s in the best place for him right now and is grateful for the coworkers who care about him. And all of us at Mercy Home, including Aiden, are grateful for friends like you, who make it possible for all of our children to have a loving, stable place to call home.

I am truly thankful for your support and prayers—it works miracles in the lives of all our kids. Please know that you are in the most heartfelt thoughts and prayers of all us at Mercy Home.

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