Mercy Housing program puts low-income, first-generation students on path to success
Children and teens at the Trailview Apartments in Bellingham entered the decorated community room Thursday evening to the sounds of applause from several Mercy Housing staff members, some dressed as clowns with their faces painted.
In one corner of the room was a person juggling while in another corner a staff member was rolling out cotton candy. The circus-themed back-to-school night was a way to celebrate help students and their parents unwind and get ready for the upcoming trimester.
Mercy Housing Northwest is an equal housing nonprofit that owns three properties in Bellingham to rent to low-income families. It has a number of programs to support families including its youth educational program called Mercy Scholars.
Mercy Scholars brings in staff to the Trailview and Sterling Meadows properties who specifically focus on the education of K-12 students in these apartment complexes, said Lindsey Karas, resident services and education manager.
“We believe really strongly in the importance of a really strong web between home and school and providing support for our students in both those spaces. So our staff really are doing that work by providing after school programming every day at the apartment complexes where the youth live, but then also being really strong liaisons with the schools,” she said.
Karas said the liaisons visit the schools, get to know principals, counselors and teachers. They also help parents navigate the school systems. The staff stay on top of how the students are doing in terms of grades and attendance. If a student is struggling with behavioral issues at school, the liaisons help them navigate that, too.
Terance Morris, a youth specialist at the Trailview site, said his goal is for every child to know they are honored, heard and respected.
“I wanted to do something that was fun yet engaging where I can bring different educational resources to Trailview,” he said. “[It] was just a chance to unwind and have a good time.”
Morris said he helps children from ages 5-17 meet their educational goals. Not only does he assist with tutoring or social emotional learning, but Morris has cooking classes on Tuesdays for children to teach them how to make their own lunches.
Post-secondary education support
Another key aspect of Mercy Scholars is supporting and encouraging children to find success after high school. The program encourages every child living at the housing sites to apply for $1,000 scholarships. This is in conjunction with Whatcom Community Foundation, which has donors who help fund the scholarships, Mercy Housing Northwest President Joe Thompson said.
Students must enroll in and stay active in the program to receive the scholarship upon graduation, if going on to higher education.
“One of the primary goals of the Mercy Scholars program is that every kid in a mercy property that has the Mercy Scholars program will graduate high school and will graduate high school ready for post secondary education opportunities,” he said.
Thompson said a majority of people who are part of the program are first-generation students who will be going into college or other post-secondary opportunities. The staff for Mercy Scholars are there to be a guide for the students and their parents.
Karas said the program has a 95% high school graduation rate with 69% of students go on to higher education.
“I would say most of our students do go in state. We have had students who have gone to the technical colleges, the community colleges, Western Washington, University of Washington, Seattle Pacific, Seattle University, and then Gonzaga,” she said.
Karas said this is an exciting year because their first batch of Mercy Scholars alumni are going to get their master’s degrees.
“It’s just really exciting to see the growth and development, and I really do think that a lot of the success has been students being able to see their peers and their neighbors and their family members really pursuing these next steps,” she said.
This story was originally published August 26, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
