Project:
Resident Infrastructure Update

Grant Award:
$185,000

Tender Mercies transforms the lives of homeless adults with mental illness by providing security, dignity, and community in a place they call home. Impact 100′s grant facilitated a broad infrastructure upgrade to enhance residents’ quality of life and that of the surrounding community.

Tender Mercies was founded in 1985 by three clergymen working among the homeless in the Over-the-Rhine area of Cincinnati. Currently, Tender Mercies provides single-room apartments for more formerly homeless people suffering from mental illness. Each resident rents their own room but they share common bathrooms and dining facilities. New residents are offered clean bedding, hygiene supplies and assisted with procuring government benefits. Most importantly, Tender Mercies arranges for 24 hour supervision so that residents feel safe and take their medication.

In 2003, Tender Mercies owned 7 buildings located in Cincinnati’s redevelopment zone that were nearly 150 years old. They were antiquated and required constant maintenance. Impact 100’s $184,000 grant facilitated a broad infrastructure upgrade to enhance residents’ quality of life and that of the surrounding community. The Impact 100 grant was combined with a $116,000 matching grant from the City of Cincinnati and $18,000 grant from The Mayerson Foundation. Renovations outlined below were completed with the funding from these grants.

The Impact 100 grant:

• Replaced a boiler leaking natural gas that was only warming residents’ rooms to 60 degrees.
• Created a 1st-floor kitchen/laundry in the women’s building to replace an eerie basement facility.
• Created a handicapped-accessible bathroom so those with physical limitations can continue to live there.
• Installed a keyless entry system in all buildings for safety purposes.
• Replaced tattered and hazardous flooring.
• Upgraded other systems in serious disrepair such as electric wiring, leaky plumbing, and damaged roofing.