What does it look like when we have healthy, strong, and equitable communities? More than 230 attendees of Mercy Housing Lakefront’s Moving Forward Together event, hosted on September 18th in Chicago, found out! They saw that by offering program-enriched affordable housing, people experiencing homelessness can move from survival mode to thriving and sharing their gifts with their community.

During the event program, attendees met James Taylor, a resident of Carlton Apartments, a Mercy Housing Lakefront community for people who have experienced homelessness and/or have disabilities. After attendees watched our Impact Video featuring James’ story, they heard directly from James who shared a few words from the stage.

Attendees learned that it hasn’t been an easy journey for James. “Lost my job, lost my apartment. I had lost people, a family member passed away. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and diagnosed with bipolar schizoaffective. I’m dealing with this every day. Once that door closes to my apartment, I’m breaking down. I’m falling apart,” reflected James on his experience of becoming homeless.

But with stable housing and a supportive community, James is now thriving! Today, he is helping to improve the health and wellbeing of other residents as a Mercy Housing Lakefront Community Health Worker and sharing his creative talents in writing and art with people in his community.

While on stage, James gave an inspiring call to action: “We live in a time when it’s easy to feel isolated, as though our successes or struggles are our own to carry alone. But look around you! Every face, every person here represents a part of something greater—something powerful. Community.”

We also celebrated community leaders and organizations who are partnering with us to help make our communities more healthy, strong, and equitable. We were honored to award the Spirit of Mercy award to Alderman Pat Dowell, City of Chicago; the Northern Trust Inspiring Hope award to President Z. Scott, Chicago State University; the More Than A Roof award to David Esposito, former Executive Director of SHPA and Associate Director, Office of Housing Stability, Illinois Department of Human Services; and the Wintrust Partners In Innovation award to Elevate.

Thank you to all supporters and sponsors who helped us raise more than $250,000 at Moving Forward Together in support of the people who call Mercy Housing Lakefront home. We look forward to seeing you at next year’s event!