Mercy House

I guess I have referenced this enough times in the past couple weeks and sent you to the empty website, that I should commit a post about what it is (or will be).

Please keep in mind, that I will speak in the present tense although at this very second, it is not yet a "reality".

The Mercy House (Bahamas) is a non-profit residential treatment facility to be housed in the Bahamas. MH will cater to adolescent girls between the ages of 12-16 who are struggling with behavioral and/or emotional disorders. Mercy House takes a strengths based approach recognizing first and foremost that every individual is a child of God, with her own strengths, talents, gifts, and purpose. It is our hope that every young lady that participates in our program becomes aware of her own strengths and ultimately her God-given purpose.

The mission of MH is

"Providing a therapeutic, safe environment for hurting adolescent girls to find refuge while equipping them with skills necessary to live successfully within their natural home environment."

The first cohort will be considered a pilot, and will most likely be housed on the island of New Providence. It is my dream that residents of Mercy House get to experience a full acreage of privacy on one of the family islands of The Bahamas and only upon preparation for transitioning, are they re-located back to the island of New Providence. This detail is still hazy.

The cottages are state-of-the art and designed for communal living. They are also secured with multiple levels of security measures to ensure that the residents are safe once left in our care.

Mercy House will offer daytime program (not school) as an alternative to full residential, however, the daytime program's hours are longer than the average school day.

All residents of MH will have access to services that address the academic, physical, psychological, family, and spiritual needs. Specifically, residents will have:

• 24 hr supervision and treatment
• Training in social and living skills
• Family visitation
• Behavior modification and cognitive problem solving
• Therapeutic recreation
• Daily living skills training
• Community skills
• Individual, group and family therapy
• Educational services

As I mentioned, I'm still waiting on finances to firstly get the business officially established as a non-profit organization within the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. Once that is completed, then I will begin more aggressively marketing, and fund-raising. It is my hope, that somehow most of my projects over the next however-many-months are able to connect me with this vision and prepare my platform so when it is launched, it is upon an already existing foundation.

To God be the glory for great things He has done...and will continue to do!

Grace peace and love,
Gia