Mercy Support Services gets $1 million donation to help build Mercy Village to fight housing crisis

MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — Mercy Support Services announced that the Warren and Augusta Hume Foundation donated $1 million towards building Mercy Village in Clay County.

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Mercy Village will be able to provide more housing for self-sufficiency programs. In 2023, Mercy Support Services was unable to provide housing for 1,485 people due to a lack of available resources.

“I have personally witnessed the ripple effects of our post-Covid world on every family, including my own. The challenges of inflation and the ever-increasing housing crisis weigh heavily on us all,” said R. Patrick Hayle, CEO of Mercy Support Services. “We see evidence every day that most families hover on the brink of crisis and can be just one emergency away from being homeless. Through our self-sufficiency programs at Mercy Support Services, we equip families with the necessary education, resources and support to get to a place where they can thrive in life. With the establishment and completion of Mercy Village, we will increase our capacity to assist nine times more families in crisis within our community!”

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The Hume Foundation marks the beginning of a major gifts match campaign, seeking to raise an additional $4.7 million to begin the vertical construction of the first Mercy Village building.

Mercy Village will be located on the 5-acre campus of Mercy Support Services. The Village will house 242 people. The new addition, comprising its supportive housing, campus and office building, and was made possible by a donation from the Legacy Group of Companies in 2020.

Mercy Village will include 3 identical buildings, each consisting of 21 apartments with 1, 2 and 3 bedrooms. These residences will primarily host families, predominantly single mothers and their children, who are actively engaged in Mercy Support Services programs.

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Mercy Village will feature a 4th building dedicated to housing unaccompanied youth. These dorms will cater to teens aged 18 and above who are still attending high school but facing housing insecurity. Additionally, this building will house a life skills activity center to provide resources and support.

“We express our profound gratitude for the generous contribution from the Warren and August Hume Foundation towards Mercy Village,” said Bob Cowie, former board chair and current capital campaign chair of Mercy. “The capital campaign’s committee’s hope is that this gift will spur the families and businesses in our community to give generously from their hearts to create a lasting legacy in Clay.”

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