SAFE KIDS. STRONG FAMILIES.
WE HELP BY PROVIDING safe opportunities for hOPE, Healing and a brighter future
MercyFirst operates short-term residential intervention, and family support and youth development programs designed to help children, youth and families succeed. Through a team of experts, MercyFirst provides safe opportunities for hope and healing in communities throughout New York City (Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island), and across Long Island. Our services are trauma-informed, family-focused, gender-responsive, and evidence- and strengths-based, and every year we provide this level of critical care to thousands of struggling individuals, giving them the foundation for a better tomorrow.
Each of our program areas are designed to keep families together, and ensure children are safe, supported and that they have a chance to thrive in life. We know that each person has unique and complex needs, so we partner with children and families to create an individual plan to help them succeed and believe in and realize a brighter future.
MercyFirst is accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA) and is Sanctuary Certified as an organization that is trauma-informed in all that it does. We are proud to be an LGBTQIA+ inclusive, welcoming, and affirming organization. All residential programs are licensed either through NYS Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) or NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH). MercyFirst also participates in the Federal Breakfast/Lunch Snack Program. Click here to access a copy of our Wellness Policy and Self-Assessment. More information about this federal program, as well as locations in the community where free meals are available to low income families, can be found at this link: National School Lunch Program.