Ginger and her two-year-old daughter Magdiel (Maggie) have lived at Decatur Place Apartments for nearly two years. Ginger is a full-time student and the University of Colorado in Denver, where she has a double major in Communications and Pre-Nursing. She has plans to apply for the Registered Nurse program at Regis University once she completes her degree. Ginger also works part time as a nanny, which gives her the opportunity to spend time with her daughter while at work.

Ginger came to Decatur Place after struggling to find an affordable place to live while she pursued her education.

“I was bouncing around from place to place, just going wherever fit for a short time and when that didn’t work out anymore, we would move on to the next place,” said Ginger.

For months, Ginger and Maggie endured long commutes late at night from Denver to the Boulder area where they would stay with family and friends. She then found Mercy Housing’s Decatur Place Apartments which features 106 apartments for single parents in Denver.

Since living at Decatur Place, Ginger has participated in a resume writing course, numerous community activities, as well as received ongoing consultation about her future career goals from the Resident Services staff. When she completes her nursing degree, Ginger plans to work in Africa assisting communities who lack access to quality medical care.

This past Spring, Ginger had the opportunity to travel to Guatemala on a service learning trip, which further underscored her passion for working with medically underserved populations. She is extremely dedicated to giving back to her community and participated in numerous volunteer activities, despite her busy schedule.

Decatur Place has not only brought a sense of stability to Ginger and Maggie’s lives, but has given them a place of their own that they can call home and has allowed them to continue to grow as a family.

“Hope is a sense of courage and a sense of faith in tomorrow and what we have. Every community needs permanent affordable housing like this,” said Ginger. “Mercy for me is a sense of stability for my daughter and I. It gives us a place to come home and a place to be a family.”