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Mercy House only serves families with children (under 18) in their custody.
 
Application Process
 1.  Applicants must call for a initial application/screening, 540-432-1812
 2.  Long Interview – Case worker will set you up for a time to come to the office and talk about basic history, living arrangements, work, goals, and current situation.
 3.  After long interview – applications are reviewed weekly. You will be notified within one week of your interview of your status. You will then either be given immediate housing (if available) or placed on a waiting list until there is an opening.
 
**Anyone who has lived at Mercy House in the past, must wait 3 months from their exit date before re-applying for housing.**
 
Career
Residents who are not working must acquire gainful employment within three weeks of coming to live at Mercy House. Those who are working must look for better paying jobs, strive for a promotion where they are working and/or register for training for a job in local demand so that they will have a better paying job in the future.

Income
Each resident must save half of their income each payday.  In order for families to find housing, they must have good credit so they are required to begin paying off their debts, especially rental and utility debts.  In addition to saving income and paying off debts, residents complete two budgets.  One budget is for living at Mercy House and one is for future planned living in fair market housing.  In 2007, Mercy House families increased their income by an average of $713 per month and saved a total of $48,043.

Parenting
Parents are required to attend parenting classes while living at Mercy House. The goal of these classes is to improve the overall wellbeing of both parents and their children. Topics and discussions are parent-driven and based on the residents' immediate parenting needs.  Solutions to parenting problems are suggested and the parents return home to try new strategies. These classes are empowering for our residents because they provide each parent with an opportunity to share their successes and strategies with other parents.  

Community
Families must attend a weekly community dinner.  Dinner is served by local community churches, clubs, families and organizations and the community members sit with the families to eat and converse. The purpose of the dinners is to give the residents the assurance that the larger community cares about them as individuals.
 
Counseling
After weekly dinners, adults attend group counseling to teach them the value of building social capital rather than dependency on the state.  Here, they learn that even in their circumstances, they can reach out to help others.
 
Additionally, each resident is required to have three individual sessions of transitional counseling to help them process and work through the emotional impacts of homelessness.

Housework
Residents must keep their apartment clean, cook their own meals, do their own laundry and contribute to upkeep and cleaning of communal areas at Mercy House.

Childcare
Children are the true victims of homelessness and they get very specialized care at Mercy House.  There is a Child Service Coordinator who works full time to meet the needs of all resident children.  This individual performs a number of tasks, including: 

• screening each child for learning, physical and neurological delays and referral of any concerns              
• gathering immunization records and ensuring that are up-to-date
• gathering school records
• assisting parents with enrollments and transportation

 
 It is important that children reach and maintain grade-appropriate abilities and are able to earn passing marks in each subject.  Mercy House has a tutoring program that provides one-on-one attention for each child. Even babies have play partners.  There is a computer lab for research and educational games.
 
Mercy House also has two programs for child and youth counseling. These programs take place on Fridays. Children also have special activities during adult group counseling.
 
Kids Connection, Too 
This program was developed to help young children become more resilient and learn about issues that are important for their age group. Children who are resilient are less likely to become involved in illegal behaviors, become school drop-outs or give in to peers' pressures.
 
 Let’s Get Something Started
This program was developed to help older youth focus on and develop their strengths and  interests.  
 
Each year, Mercy House hosts a back-to-school picnic where children eat, play and receive their school supplies. Every Christmas, children are adopted for the day by community members. Many residents tell us the Mercy House Christmas is the best one they’ve ever had.
 
 
 
 

1. Applicants must call for an initial application/screening ( 540-432-1812)
2. Long Interview – A case worker will arrange a time for you to come to the office and talk about basic history, living arrangements, work, goals, and current situation.
   
   1. Applicant must bring photo ID, Social Security Card, and Birth Certificate for all adults, birth certificate (or birth letter) and Social Security Cards for all children and marriage certificate if applying as a couple.
3. After long interview – Applications are reviewed weekly. You will be notified of your status within one week of your interview. You will then either be given immediate housing (if available) or placed on a waiting list until there is an opening.
   
   1. Applicants who are placed on the waiting list should expect a wait time of 1-3 months.
   2. Mercy House is not an emergency shelter. Therefore, contact the Salvation Army (540-434-4854) or First Step (540-434-0295) if you are in need of emergency housing.
   3. All applicants must be able and willing to work, save money and become self-sufficient in the 6-month time period allotted to their family. If you cannot commit to working within 3 weeks of moving into the shelter, then you will not be accepted into our program. Families MUST have enough income to pay rent, utilities and monthly living expenses after leaving Mercy House.