In Illinois, only 34 rental homes are affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income households. There is a shortage of nearly 294,000 homes for extremely low-income households.
A minimum-wage worker in Wisconsin would need to work 128 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Rent burden, housing instability, and homelessness caused by this shortage have broad-ranging negative impacts on people’s health, education, and economic security.
Mercy Housing Lakefront has worked in this region for decades – pioneering permanent supportive housing, setting best-practice standards for services, and building communities that outlast any single moment of crisis.
In Milwaukee, a partnership with Advocate Aurora Health brings nutrition education workshops directly to residents. In Batavia, a two-decade partnership with University of Illinois Extension brings gardening classes to children and adults.
In Chicago, Community Health Workers with deep lived experience and expert training from Sinai Urban Health Institute help residents navigate healthcare and incorporate healthy behaviors to address chronic illness.
Mercy Housing Lakefront was among the first nonprofits in the country to create Permanent Supportive Housing – now the industry standard for addressing chronic homelessness – and the first Midwest nonprofit to own and operate single room occupancy housing.
Mercy Housing Lakefront has been at the forefront of efforts to improve environmental sustainability in multifamily housing, which also helps dollars go further in supporting the mission. The Englewood Apartments, for example, is an excellent example of our long-term commitment to environmental sustainability. When the apartments were originally built in 2010, they included many sustainability features to reduce energy and water consumption, including a hybrid geothermal system, a green roof to reduce energy usage, energy-efficient windows, low-VOC paints, and low-flow toilets, faucets, and shower heads. In recent years, with philanthropic support, Mercy Housing’s environmental sustainability program – Green Hope – has completed an LED lighting retrofit of the apartments and upgraded its existing refrigerators with highly efficient Energy Star certified refrigerators. These coordinated efforts reduced the energy use intensity by 18% over five years and reduced the carbon footprint of the property by 46 tons. In celebration of these impacts and impacts throughout the portfolio, in 2023 Mercy Housing Lakefront hosted then U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to tour the apartments and discuss sustainability measures. Mercy Housing Lakefront was also recently awarded the 2026 Premier Partner Award by the Multifamily Energy Savings Program for this work in Illinois.
The COVID-19 pandemic deepened isolation and exacerbated challenges faced by those with substance use disorders. Recognizing the warning signs, Mercy Housing Lakefront expanded partnerships with local behavioral health organizations to bring counselors directly to our communities. If staff members identified residents in distress, they could immediately connect them to behavioral health assessments, coaching, and ongoing care. The result: fewer 911 calls, fewer emergency hospitalizations, and a renewed sense of stability for residents and staff alike.
Deepening challenges for residents and increasing costs in the post-pandemic environment have also impacted other nonprofit affordable housing providers in the region. Mercy Housing Lakefront recently accepted donations of two affordable housing communities from nonprofits that had become insolvent. Philanthropic gifts are helping to support the operations of these locations during pre-development and filling gaps in both capital stacks to swiftly preserve these properties as permanent supportive housing with a more financially sustainable long-term plan.
Gifts to the endowment ensure Mercy can continue to respond to emerging needs – swiftly, creatively, and compassionately.
In Illinois, only 34 rental homes are affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income households and a Wisconsin worker on minimum wage needs 128 hours a week to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Rent burden, housing instability, and homelessness caused by this shortage have broad-ranging negative impacts on people’s health, education, and economic security. Mercy Housing Lakefront is meeting the moment with preservation of deeply affordable homes, on-site services, and an innovative Community Health Worker program. Here’s what a permanent endowment protects.
On-site services are available at most Mercy Housing Lakefront properties today, but not all. The endowment closes that gap – helping expand so that every resident, in every community, has someone who knows their name and is there to help.
In Chicago, Community Health Workers with deep lived experience and expert training from Sinai Urban Health Institute help residents navigate healthcare and incorporate healthy behaviors to address chronic illness. The endowment protects roles like this one – funded by grants today, guaranteed tomorrow.
When two local nonprofit affordable housing providers went under, Mercy Housing Lakefront stepped up to keep neighbors in their homes and preserve two buildings as permanent supportive housing communities. The endowment makes that compassion permanent.
The Mercy Builds endowment
The Mercy Builds endowment is built gift by gift – each one a permanent part of the foundation. Arrange a conversation with the philanthropy team to find your role.
