Felicia, who had run away from an abusive home, was living on the street and in and out of prison when a judge referred her to Mercy Education Project.

MEP provides after-school tutoring, summer enrichment, GED preparation and life skills support for girls and women in a neighborhood of Detroit where 24% of adults haven’t completed ninth grade.

“A few years later, her judge came to her graduation program at Mercy Education Project,” said Mercy Sister Maureen Mulcrone, development and marketing director.

MEP opens up opportunities for girls and women partly with funding through federal Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) awarded by the City of Detroit.

About 40% of that funding goes to one-to-one, curriculum-based tutoring program for low-income girls in grades 1 through 8. With this support, 100% of MEP eighth-graders go on to high school.

The remaining 60% of CDBG funding goes to women’s literacy, adult basic education, GED preparation, and career and workforce development. MEP provides transportation and off-site child care to overcome the two greatest barriers to women furthering their education and training.

About half of MEP’s adult students had failed in multiple GED programs before coming to MEP. Without the extra support that MEP provides, these adults, despite their persistence, will continue to fail and, eventually, will become completely demoralized and unlikely to be able to support themselves and their children, Sister Maureen notes.

Data sources

• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2007 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• U.S. Census Bureau, “American FactFinder,” 2009 American Community Survey (accessed May 2011). Data came from the following tables: Statewide poverty percentages, GCT1701, Ratio of income to poverty level, C17002
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2007 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• Half in Ten analysis of Table 1, 2009 State Expenditure Report, National Association of State Budget Officers.
• College Board Trends in Pricing