Sister Lillian Murphy

Mercy Housing youth residents raise the bar in and out of the classroom

“There is no school equal to a decent home.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

Sister Lillian Murphy
Mercy Housing CEO Sister Lillian Murphy, RSM

According to a new report on Federal Education Policy from the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) entitled Remedial Education – Can the U. S. Education System Regain Its World Lead, the U.S. education system is nowhere near as internationally competitive as it was even 30 years ago.

The report’s author and Associate Director for CFR’s Renewing America publications, Rebecca Strauss, says, “The truth is that there are two very different education stories in America. The children of the wealthiest 10 percent or so do receive some of the best education in the world, and the quality keeps getting better. For most everyone else, this is not the case. America’s average standing in global education rankings has tumbled not because everyone is falling, but because of the country’s deep, still-widening achievement gap between socioeconomic groups.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that adults aged 30-34 who hold only a high school diploma earn approximately $638 per week as opposed to their peers holding a bachelor’s degree and earning $1,053 a week. Seeing that and recognizing that the nation’s poorest students are the most academically vulnerable clearly illustrates the cycle of poverty many of our youngest residents may face. We at Mercy Housing are doing our very best to see that our youth have the same shot at success every person deserves.

I invite you to read our latest issue of Community Matters and learn more about how your donor dollars are going to provide educational support to Mercy Housing residents all across the nation. Read about how our on-site out-of-school time programming is keeping students safe and giving them an academically competitive edge, at the same time. Meet two brothers who, in middle school, already have their sights set on some very prestigious colleges. Lastly, learn about how one program in California is empowering our girls to become strong, independent women.

All that and more about Mercy Housing’s commitment to education and housing are featured in the latest edition of Community Matters. So please take a peek! And thank you for helping us to provide more than roof to the many people who come home to (and study with) Mercy Housing, every single day!

Live in Hope,
Sister Lillian Murphy, RSM
Chief Executive Officer, Mercy Housing