2017β2019 Mission Grant β Mercy House for Women and Children β $100,000
Being assigned my deaconess internship at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Flint, Michigan, was an eye-opening experience. My home in rural northwest Missouri was very different from this city of 200,000 where auto manufacturing and its related industries employed the majority of the population. Yet homelessness, unemployment, and poverty crept into the landscape of the city as the auto industry experienced a downturn during the 1970s.
The challenges of living in Flint were compounded four decades later with the Flint water crisis. Lead-tainted water had been allowed to flow through the drinking water pipes, causing additional hardships for the residents. The social problems that arose seemed insurmountable.
People at the Franklin Avenue Mission in Flint sought to shine Godβs light into the community by meeting the needs of their poverty-stricken neighbors. They established Mercy House, a safe place for homeless, pregnant and/or abused women and their children. The facility seeks to break the cycle of poverty and decrease the potential for abuse by housing women and children in a safe, caring, Christian environment, where parenting and relationship building can be modeled. The long-term transitional housing facility received a $100,000 LWML Mission Grant at the 2017 Albuquerque convention to be used to renovate and furnish the residence.
Our Mite Box contributions have helped Franklin Avenue Mission and the Mercy House positively impact the lives of those receiving care through their programs. Thank you for giving generously this Giving Tuesday, December 3.
