Mercy House Update

Since opening in 2022, Mercy House has received and cared for 36 individuals, 30 of whom died peacefully in our care, while the others were able to move onto other arrangements. We are so incredibly grateful for this mission which has been entrusted to us.

Offering full-time care to individuals experiencing hospice care is a costly endeavor, and while we are so proud of the work we have done, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to pause our hospice program.

In 2025, we began conversations with the Rock Hill men’s and women’s shelters about a possible recuperative care program. The goal would be to receive individuals who are experiencing an acute physical or medical crisis for a brief stay. While in our care, they would have time to rest outside the cycle of moving from day to night shelters. They could receive visits from home health workers and experience a few days respite. Our hope would be that we could prevent further hospitalization and offer a much needed service.

The organizations who work with the unhoused and underhoused community spend a great deal of time discussing what we understand is a continuum of care. While Mercy House has served since our opening at the final end of the continuum—helping the most vulnerable in our community to die with dignity—we sensed a way to utilize the resources we already have to enter at another place in the continuum. We will work with Bethel Shelters and The Life House, receiving referrals directly from case managers.

We have spent the last three years helping people to die with dignity, and now we will focus our mission on helping people to live. We still need the support of our friends and neighbors to do this work. Donations of funds, food, and volunteer time continue to be gratefully accepted.