Give Someone a Second Chance

Please help Milwaukee women and children get a second chance in life at Mercy Housing’s St. Catherine Residence.  Donate now and the R.A. Stevens Family Foundation will provide a $1 match for every $2 in new or increased gifts.

For over 120 years, supporters like you have helped women like Sherilee.

Experiencing poor health and the death of her fiancé whom she had been financially dependent on, Sherrilee returned to Wisconsin in a daze. While she was able to scrape together temporary living arrangements at a shelter, it wasn’t until she came to St. Catherine Residence that she truly found a stable home. “St. Catherine’s gave me a second chance,” she said.

At St. Catherine Residence, Sherrilee has stabilized her life and now gives back by mentoring young mothers and organizing community meals such as the annual Thanksgiving dinner.

Residents like Sherilee face many challenges.  Most live in poverty, earn low incomes, and self-report physical or mental health challenges.  With your help, however, we have been able to keep rents affordable and provide the support they need to live independently and work towards greater economic self-sufficiency.

Let me introduce you to another resident….

Pregnant, alone, in an abusive relationship and very scared, Kathy lost her apartment. She soon found herself homeless and struggling to find a shelter. “Life went in a different direction than I had expected,” she said.

Fortunately, Kathy was able to move into St. Catherine Residence where she receives support through the Right Start Program for new mothers.  With this support, she is now raising a healthy baby and working to find a new full-time job.

Please help provide second chances for women like Sherrilee and Kathy to rebuild their lives.  Your new or increased gift will be matched by the R.A. Stevens Family Foundation and will make it possible to provide educational services to help an aspiring woman rebuild her life.

Send checks to St. Catherine Residence
Attn: Resource Development
St. Catherine Residence
1032 East Knapp Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202

Or donate online at http://stcatherineresidence.org/donate/

If you have any questions, please contact Marlene Salley, Coordinator – Resource Development and Marketing, Milwaukee, at MSalley@mercyhousing.org or 414.272.8470.

 

Pullman Wheelworks Earns Affordable Housing Finance Readers’ Choice Award

Affordable Housing Finance Magazine recently announced that Pullman Wheelworks Apartments, a redevelopment project completed by Mercy Housing Lakefront and National Housing Trust/Enterprise Preservation Corporation, will be awarded its Reader’s Choice Award for Preservation.

Click hear to read the full Affordable Housing Finance Announcement

Pullman Wheelworks, located at 901 East 104^th Street in Chicago, was built in 1920 and was originally used as a manufacturing facility in the historically significant company town of Pullman. The property was converted into 210 multifamily apartments in 1980.

In 2013, Mercy Housing Lakefront and National Housing Trust/Enterprise Preservation Corporation acquired and completed an extensive renovation of the property to upgrade the apartments, improve energy efficiency, and preserve historically significant features.

The project was made possible through the collaboration of many financial partners, including: BMO Harris Bank, City of Chicago, Chicago Neighborhood Initiative, Community Investment Corporation, Illinois Housing Development Authority, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, LISC Chicago, National Affordable Housing Trust, The Preservation Compact, The PrivateBank, Red Mortgage Capital LLC, U.S. Bank, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mercy Housing Lakefront’s ability to preserve the affordability of Pullman Wheelworks is also possible due to the generosity of many individuals, corporations and foundations, especially: Bank of America Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, Citi Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Helen Brach Foundation, Northern Trust Charitable Trust, Pierce & Associates, P.C., Polk Bros. Foundation, State Farm Bank, and U.S. Bancorp Foundation.

Mercy Housing Lakefront and National Housing Trust/Enterprise Preservation Corp. will be honored at a ceremony at AHF Live: The 2014 Affordable Housing Developers Summit, which will be held Nov. 19-21 at the Fairmont Millennium Park in Chicago. They also will be featured in the November/December issue of Affordable Housing Finance.

Three MHL Developments Moving Forward

Mercy Housing Lakefront has now received the financing needed to move forward with three developments that will provide affordable housing to seniors in Kankakee, homeless veterans in Danville, and working families in Chicago.

Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) has awarded Low Income Housing Tax Credits to MHL for a building with 70 apartments for seniors in Kankakee. The Kankakee County Housing Development Corporation (KHDC), Presence St. Mary’s Hospital and the City of Kankakee have partnered with MHL on this development, which will not only provide affordable living, but also provide a healthcare and housing partnership that will support seniors in healthy aging and integrated housing with supportive services for seniors who live independently with disabilities.

MHL has partnered with the Danville Housing Authority and the VA Illiana Health Care System to develop 65 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans and their families on a 15-acre site on the VA Medical Center Campus in Danville, IL. It was recently announced that U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has committed 65 Project Based VASH Vouchers to this project.  These vouchers will provide the rental assistance for homeless veterans and their families who are in need of housing and supportive services.

Chicago’s City Council recently approved a financing agreement that will give MHL $17.8 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credit equity and up to $30 million from bond sales to the CHA for the adaptive reuse of an historic building in the Homan Square neighborhood.  This development, Sterling Park Apartments, will provide 181 apartments that will be affordable to low-to-moderate income families.

It is anticipated that all three of these MHL projects will break ground in the spring of 2015.