Tender Mercies supports residents, fosters independence
Since 1985, Tender Mercies has provided security and promoted self-worth and a sense of community for its residents. And for homeless adults who are dealing with mental illness, the services Tender Mercies provides are critical when it comes to addressing the root causes of their situations, all while getting them the help they need to begin making progress in life. “Our belief is that housing is a basic human right, so we get someone in off the streets, get them a roof over their head, get some food in them, and we surround them with a caring community and start addressing what might have led to homelessness,” says Russell Winters, CEO at Tender Mercies. That process is instrumental in the lives of individuals who may enter the organization with feelings of hopelessness and despair. Winters says he remembers a woman who came to Tender Mercies after having been referred to transitional housing by the PATH Team. “That’s our street outreach team—we partner with Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services—and they go out under the bridges to the tent camps where people live on the Ohio River Banks, and they engage people, develop a relationship with them and try to figure out why they’re living on the street,” Winters says. “Sometimes it’s because they don’t know of the resources that exist. Maybe they had a bad experience, or sometimes they’re too paranoid to come in to a shelter because of their mental illness.” The woman the PATH Team reached out to was so depressed when she came in, that according to Winters, “she was almost catatonic.” After working with a case manager, however, and engaging with members of the Tender Mercies community and receiving treatment for depression, she now works part-time at a floral shop and lives on her own in an apartment near Oakley Square. “Just the difference after her two years in our transitional program from when she came in to when she left was astounding,” Winters says. “She went from someone who would not socially interact with anyone, who—once she left—was able to care for herself and her room and is probably one of our greatest ambassadors and is very social.” Do Good: • Support Tender Mercies by attending the first annual Taste of Over-the-Rhine. • Donate to Tender Mercies. • Volunteer with the organization. By Brittany York Brittany York is a professor of English composition at the University of Cincinnati. She also edits the For Good section of SoapboxMedia.
