Background to the House of Mercy

               
The Charity was started by The Sisters of Mercy and the Presentation Brothers.

It all started in the late 1980s. The Sisters of Mercy, Gravesend, due to an increase in the number of homeless people calling to their Convent for food and clothing, decided to open a project for single homeless people. Having looked at many properties in the town center they eventually leased a house in Edwin Street from the Archdiocese of Southwark.
The Sisters invited a male Religious Order, the Presentation Brothers, to join them in the project at both a personal and financial level. A voluntary Management Committee was formed, staff appointed and the project opened, as both a hostel and Day Center in 1992.

The Hostel has accommodation for six residents who can stay for a period of up to six months.

In 2001 House of Mercy became a registered charity and in 2012, thanks to the generosity of the Sisters of Mercy a second phase,  McAuley house was opened offering a further 4 bed spaces. 

​In 2014 The Charity bought a third property the old Rising Sun Public House in Northfleet and refurbished it into a 12-bed hostel.

On the 10th of June 2019, we opened a further hostel Edmund Rice House in Pelham Road, Gravesend. This modern hostel will offer 6 months of accommodation and support to 13 homeless. 

Today we have 35 beds available for the homeless.