Mercy Housing Lakefront was proud to be the recipient of a grant from Batavia United Way (BUW), with the money going toward growing Resident Services programs, focusing on health and wellness, financial stability, and education.

Health and Wellness Programs

“Namaste” has been the word of the day for 12 Batavia Apartments residents participating in monthly yoga classes, thanks to the grant from Batavia United Way. In partnership with The PiEproject Foundation, these residents have been learning how to incorporate yoga into their daily lives and why it is important.

“I am so very grateful. Being a part of yoga each session has helped me tremendously with having peace of mind,” said Batavia Apartments resident Sonya. “I don’t get many opportunities to do things for me, and I’m thankful for this program because it’s helping keep me healthy, mentally and physically, in addition to meeting other amazing women. We all appreciate you so much.”

Classes are ongoing through September 2022.

Financial Literacy – Money Mindset

Many residents in affordable housing often experience financial insecurity. Through our Financial Literacy programs, Mercy Housing is committed to providing residents with financial education and literacy opportunities.  Another program the United Way grant helped to fund was “Money Mindset,” a workshop focused on helping interested residents improve their financial knowledge and gain new skills.

Topics covered include:

• The importance of financial literacy
• How to set & achieve financial goals
• How to break bad spending habits
• How to create a monthly budget
• Understanding credit scores
• Identity theft
• and more!

Upon completion of this 8-week hybrid program, 100% of the participants said they were “very likely” to recommend Money Mindset to others. One Batavia resident explained, “After completing the program, I feel I am going to hold myself more accountable and motivate others to save!”

Education – The Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation (CCWF)

Batavia United Way continued its support for Batavia Apartment residents by offering a 12-week parenting/parent-child education workshop, “The Best Start for Families: A Health Equity Approach.” The workshop, led by Changing Children’s Worlds Foundation, focused on the unexpected and sometimes traumatic family and life experiences of children, youth, and even some parents because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The result of this in-depth program left resident participants with a better understanding of empathy and gave them the necessary tools for competence-building, plus ideas on bettering communication between parents and their kids.

Batavia United Way and Batavia Apartments – A Continued Partnership 

Batavia United Way (BUW) works with government, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations in the Batavia (IL) community. BUW forms collaborations and partnerships to support community members in the areas of education, health, and financial stability.

During the pandemic lockdown, Batavia United Way coordinated a food and supply drive for every Mercy Housing Lakefront’s Batavia Apartments resident, providing them with a grocery bag filled with food, hygiene items, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper. But that wasn’t all…they generously pledged to fund Meals on Wheels deliveries for older adult residents, ensuring that their health and nutrition needs were met throughout the unknown and scary times.

Mercy Housing Lakefront thanks everyone at Batavia United Way for your continued commitment and dedication to Batavia Apartments as we continue to work together to provide residents with the services they need to reach their fullest potential every day.