Erie’s Mercy Anchor Community Center: ‘Everybody deserves a second chance’

Ashley Davis knows firsthand that chaos does not have to be a precursor to failure.

Davis, 39, came to the Mercy Anchor Community Center, located at the former Holy Rosary School building at 1012 E. 28th St., in February 2023.

At the time, her son Domenik was 5 months old. Davis wrestled with addiction and had spent much of her life in toxic relationships and environments.

“When I came here I really didn’t know what I was going to do,” Davis said. “I don’t have family here. The people I was around weren’t the best influences. I needed to live my life differently.”

Davis was one of the first residents to move into the new Mercy Anchor Community Center, a residential complex created by the Mercy Center For Women.

The Erie nonprofit provides both transitional and long-term housing for homeless women and children who have been affected by substance abuse, domestic violence and other hardships.

The Mercy Anchor Community Center celebrates its three-year anniversary in March.

Davis, in a 2023 interview with the Erie Times-News, called the new facility “a Godsend” that gave both she and her son “a brand-new start in a brand-new place.”

The center has 13 fully-furnished apartments. In the three years since the facility opened, 75 people — including Davis and her son — have lived there, according to the Mercy Center.

The $4 million project was partially funded by a state tax-credit program. The Mercy Center reached an agreement in 2019 to buy the 39,000-square-foot Holy Rosary building from the Holy Rosary Parish for $300,000.

Three years later, Davis has learned to “get out of her own way.”

She will celebrate five years of sobriety in November and now works full time for the Mercy Center as  a house manager.

Domenik is 3 years old.

In March, Davis starts a 10-week training program to become certified as a recovery specialist, someone who uses his or her lived experience to mentor others who want to leave drugs/alcohol behind.

“For a long time in my life I did not think it was possible to get beyond where I was,” Davis continued. “You think you can’t get past the substances or the environments and there’s a lot of ‘poor me’ and excuses, rationalizations and denial.  But to be able to come out of that and really take care of myself and my son, that is amazing.”

‘Everybody deserves a second chance’

Tenants at the Mercy Anchor Community Center’s apartments strive to gain stability and independence; the goal is to eventually move into other housing that is not affiliated with the nonprofit.

Applicants pay varying rents based on their income and/or the government assistance they receive.

“We continue to face high numbers of people who need help with homelessness, addiction and abuse in this community,” said Jennie Hagerty, the Mercy Center’s executive director. “The reason MACC (exists) is because everybody deserves a second chance. Everybody deserves to be housed.

“We all make poor choices in life. What’s important is how we decide to live our future,” Hagerty said. “These individuals that we serve are seeking to live their lives the right way.”

The Mercy Anchor Community Center also features various amenities including a gymnasium and exercise room; a technology hub and meeting room with computer stations and a conference room; a thrift store; a food pantry; and a Dress For Success Erie location, where women can obtain gently-used and nearly-new professional clothing for employment/job interviews.

Additionally, various case management services provided by AHN Saint Vincent, UPMC Western Behavioral Health at Safe Harbor, and Sarah Reed Children’s Center.

The facility has also hosted Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings; GED classes; art instruction; work readiness programs; a community garden, and a foster grandparent program.

“Those are all services that holistically help our tenants move forward in their journeys,” Hagerty said. “It’s instrumental.”

Erie Mayor Daria Devlin lauded the Mercy Anchor Community Center’s work during its first three years.

“As we work to address the city’s  housing challenges across the continuum,” Devlin said, “we’re grateful for partners like Mercy Center that are meeting the needs of a specific population, especially vulnerable ones like women and children.”

Olivia’s story: From addiction to healing

Olivia Davis was one of those at-risk women.

Davis — who is no relation to Ashley Davis — is a 29-year-old single mother of a 2 1/2-year-old son. Originally from the Boston area, Davis, who abused heroin and other substances, moved into the Mercy Anchor Community Center in October 2024.

“I was living on the streets of Boston, jumping around from state to state,” Olivia Davis said.

She has a sister in Meadville, which brought her to the Erie area.

“But then I got pregnant with my son but I was still in active addiction,” Olivia Davis said. “I got into a rehab program. I gave birth in rehab and spent time in a halfway house and then I found the Mercy Center.”

Olivia Davis said becoming a mother changed her perspective.

She has been drug-free for almost three years, and has taken financial literacy, parenting and cooking classes at the Mercy Center.

Olivia Davis is now a paid part-time employee at the Mercy Center’s child care center, putting in at least 20 hours a week. She now wants to pursue a career in social work.

“I never felt like anyone cared before I came here,” she said. “Now I want to take what I’ve learned and experienced and give it to other women.”

Ashley Davis wants to do the same.

“I spent a lot of my life making excuses and doing the wrong things,” she said. “It’s important for people to see and to hear that it’s possible to do better.”