Feb 23The top five stories of 2025
2025 brought powerful moments of progress and possibility. Across our work and the communities we serve, stories pushed us to think bigger and bolder. Here are five that rose above the rest and helped define the year.
The Hub is at the heart of the Sunnydale community. Designed to foster unity, this community center connects the Sunnydale and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods, providing resources, programs, and support.
Learn how this vision came to life>>
Every Mercy Housing community starts with a simple belief: Everyone deserves a place to belong. We build affordable homes that uplift dignity, inspire pride and foster respect. From the earliest vision for the Kelsey Civic Center, inclusion and accessibility were essential. One resident, Rory, shares what this community has meant in his life.
This is the story of Raan, a student resident who sees the world as a place where stories aren’t just written; they’re told. A 2025 EPIC Award winner, Raan has long been fascinated by the art of storytelling. “I plan to spend part of my life dedicated to it,” he shared.
Turn the page to continue Raan’s story >>
When Eric walked through the doors of Thrive Sweet Auburn earlier this year, he brought with him a suitcase packed with a lifetime of resilience. Life, as he describes, leaves “worldly scars on all of us.” His scars came with loss: the passing of his beloved wife, Mary Lou, and his son. Crushing moments brought him to a season of instability. Yet what stands out in his journey isn’t what he lost, but what he found.
Read more about Eric’s latest chapter >>
If you could plant any food in your garden, what would it be? (And no, pizza does not count.) Last summer, Batavia Apartment youth took this question to heart during a program led by University of Illinois Extension in partnership with Mercy Housing Lakefront. The answers may surprise you: Onions were a top pick. Onions? Yes, onions! Of course, plenty of other veggies made the list too.
