“Tender Mercies saved my life,” Edith says. “I’ll say it again and again.”
Edith has had a life that was not so atypical from yours and mine. She grew up in Greater Cincinnati, went to school here, and had a career in food service for over thirty years. What was atypical about Edith’s life, however, was that she struggled with untreated mental illness and didn’t have any resources to manage it.
Because of this, Edith experienced homelessness several times. She coped with her illness through various forms of addiction, and it kept her from the things she once loved. The last time she became homeless, she went to the Drop Inn Center and metaphorically threw her hands in the air, surrendering to the universe her struggles and pain. She had had enough. And she was tired of being so damned tired all the time. She needed help – big time – and was finally willing to do whatever it took to save herself. That’s where Tender Mercies and our wrap-around services took the reins. A month after her initial interview Edith received a key to her apartment at the Dana building and began rebuilding her life.
“Tender Mercies saved my life,” Edith says. “I’ll say it again and again.”
While at Tender Mercies, Edith received the kind of individualized care and attention that makes us the premiere provider of permanent supportive housing in the region. Tender Mercies helped Edith find support for her addiction and assisted with filing for social security benefits, all while treating her with the compassionate care she deserved. “There was no judgment. They treat me with respect and dignity.”
Today, Edith is three years sober and lives independently in a small apartment in Reading. “In the past two and a half years, I’ve gotten to know myself,” she says. “Now I’m able to recognize my episodes, my moods. I’m able to recognize how I talk to myself.” She receives food, rental assistance, and other support from a variety of organizations, including regular check-ins from Tender Mercies just to make sure she’s still doing well.
In 2022, Edith made a $100 donation to purchase a brick in our Harkavy building patio. Inscribed on the brick is one word: “Grateful.”
This content originally appeared in our 2022 Annual Report.
