Our People, Our Neighborhood

Through our core programs and a full complement of support services, Mercy Center addresses four critical problems facing people who live in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx:

unemployment and economic poverty
violent and oppressive behaviors in families and the community
overburdened and underperforming schools
the powerlessness and estrangement that accompanies the isolation of the immigrant experience

Snapshot of our People

Fiscal Year 2019 (7/1/2018 - 6/30/2019)

Countries of Origin

Our participants come from 50 countries and 5 continents.

Household Incomes

75% of our participants have an annual income of less than $21,000.

Education Levels

50% of our participants have completed less than a high school level education.

Mercy Center is home to one of the poorest Congressional Districts (15th) in the United States.

Seventy-five percent of participant families live on annual household incomes of less than $21,000 and close to 80% live on incomes below the poverty line.
Forty-one percent receive some form of government assistance (Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income, Housing, Medicaid, etc.)
They represent 50 countries.
Most are Hispanic (90%) families, with seventy-five percent having emigrated from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, or Ecuador.
Over a quarter of participants have never attended high school and 40% have not graduated, often because of the responsibility or caring for young children.
Literacy levels vary, and work histories are largely in low-paying service industries. Over fifty percent work in the Home Health Aide/Home Attendant, Cleaning, and Restaurant fields.