OUR MISSION
MercyFirst, a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, inspires hope and promotes healing for children and families by providing quality human services and educational opportunities while advocating for social change.
OUR VALUES
MercyFirst’s six core values guide practice that honors the legacy of the past and supports the pledge to achieve strong outcomes into the future.
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Compassion
We empathize with the suffering of others and actively work to alleviate it as if it were our own.
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Excellence
We strive to use our knowledge, skills, and talents to carry out our responsibilities to the best of our ability.
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Hospitality
We provide a welcoming, open, safe, and sensitive environment for those we serve and with whom we work.
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Integrity
We embody wholeness and unity through honesty in our words and in our actions.
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Justice
We act with fairness and mercy in our relationships, and advocate for equity in our society.
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Respect
We value every individual’s God given right to be treated with respect and dignity.
SOCIAL EQUITY STATEMENT
In 1894, the Sisters of Mercy/Hermanas de la Misericordia founded our community of care, and set forth our agency’s core values: compassion, excellence, hospitality, integrity, justice and respect. Woven into each of the MercyFirst values is Equity, a fundamental component of the principals guiding our work with marginalized children and families in need.
Equity is at the center of the MercyFirst mission to inspire hope and promote healing for children and families in need by providing quality human services and educational opportunities while advocating for social change.
Equity is creating and sustaining a workplace culture and environment that respects an individual’s right to be different, fair treatment for all, and benefit from the competitive advantage of employing diverse talent.
Equity informs MercyFirst’s decision-making as we purposefully strive to create a sense of belonging that is experienced by all children/youth, families, employees, and contracted partners connected to the agency.
The pursuit of justice within the context of deeply rooted issues of race and social equity benefits everyone by critically exploring systems of oppression that undercut fairness across multiple demographics, conditions, and experiences. MercyFirst prioritizes attention to uncovering racial injustices as they are the most pervasive and entrenched form of injustice permeating the institutions and systems that everyone must access, including the child welfare system. Through our advocacy and practice, we endorse a social safety net for all.
Our vision is grounded in a commitment to respect all individuals, regardless of culture, ethnicity, race, religion, age, national origin, language, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status, socioeconomic status, and immigration status. At MercyFirst, we believe that all people have the potential to succeed and should be given an equal opportunity to thrive.
