What's Happening

October 12, 2022, Seattle, Washington – Mercy Housing Northwest, based in Seattle, is celebrating 30 years of making a difference in the lives of individuals and families by offering them access to affordable housing.

Sister Judy Byron, OP

Mercy Housing Northwest began in 1990 with a meeting of 80 Sisters who wanted to address the issue of homelessness – especially when they learned that nearly a third of the people in the area who were homeless were children. The Edmonds Dominican Sisters – who merged with the Adrian Dominican Sisters in 2003 – were among four of the original founding communities in the Seattle area who started the organization that became Mercy Housing Northwest.

“To me, the best part is the kids,” Sister Judy Byron, OP, told The Northwest Catholic, the official publication of the Archdiocese of Seattle. “If we could give kids a stable home, they could have a good life.” 

Most of the housing properties operated by Mercy Housing Northwest give additional help to families through services such as housing and financial stability, health and wellness, out-of-school programming for the children, and community involvement – which are “the anchors for the folks [who] live there,” Sister Judy said.

Read the entire article by Brenda Sexton in The Northwest Catholic. 

Feature photo: An architect’s rendering of Cedar Crossing, a 254-apartment housing development through a partnership between Bellwether Housing and Mercy Housing Northwest. Photo Courtesy of Mercy Housing Northwest

October 11, 2022, Alexandria, Virginia – Sister Donna Markham, OP, PhD, recently announced her plans to retire as President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) in the summer of 2023. After serving on its board, she became CEO in 2015, the first woman to lead CCUSA in its 112 years of service.

Currently, CCUSA serves more than 15 million people every year through local agencies across the United States. Ministry areas include food and nutrition, affordable housing, disaster relief, immigration and refugee services, advocacy and social policy initiatives, and social enterprise initiatives. 

Sister Donna led CCUSA through periods of challenge and innovation, as well as during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her leadership role at the national agency gave Sister Donna numerous opportunities: to accompany Pope Francis during his tour of New York and Washington, D.C., in 2015; to visit the California-Mexico border to learn of the situation and to support Catholic Charities workers; to participate in a meeting of faith leaders with Vice President Kamala Harris; and to speak out on a variety of issues and government policies that affect people living in poverty.

Sister Donna served in numerous leadership roles in the past 40 years. A certified clinical psychologist, she held leadership positions in mental health agencies: the Behavioral Health Institute for Mercy Health, serving Ohio and Kentucky, and Southdown Institute, based in Ontario, Canada, and offering residential treatment for clergy and religious. She served on the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ General Council from 1986 to 1992 and as Prioress of the Congregation from 2004 to 2010.

Read more about Sister Donna’s retirement and her ministry at CCUSA.