In Honor of Grandmother Joyce
From 2019 until 2023, Mercedez Butts serviced 225 women in Milwaukee on their recovery path from substance abuse by providing a safe haven at Joyce’s House. She founded the nonprofit Joyce’s House in honor of her late Grandmother Joyce who overcame substance abuse.
Originally from Oakland, California, Grandmother Joyce moved to Milwaukee and became pregnant at 16 years old. She eventually dropped out of high school. As Butts saw her Grandmother fight and win against substance abuse, ultimately it was cancer that took Joyce’s life. For Butts, she felt her Grandmother never got a fair chance in life and it all started with her not having a solid educational background.
After running Joyce’s House for four years, and once her Grandmother Joyce passed away at the age of 58, Butts was going to close Joyce’s House due to financial issues. Instead of letting go of the mission, Butts pivoted and transitioned to running an education center. Butts renamed Joyce’s House to Joyce’s House Education Center in 2023 where she now provides GED, nursing, and real estate programming.
“I was doing the most to keep that house open,” Butts said. “That’s my life’s work.”
According to Butts, 66% of Joyce’s House applicants didn’t have a strong educational background. Instead of judging the women for being on their journeys, she thought about ways to stop them from coming on this path which starts with a higher education.
“Education was a part of the problem,” Butts said. “…What if it was a different circumstance, what if we didn’t judge people.”
Joyce’s House Education Center is open to all adults.
1st Place Winner of 2024 Rev-Up MKE
Joyce’s House Education Center won first place at the 2024 Rev-Up MKE pitch competition hosted by Near West Side Partners winning $10,000 and the $1,000 audience choice winner.
“The Near West Side has been home to some of Milwaukee’s greatest entrepreneurs. We are proud to welcome and support the next generation of entrepreneurs in the Near West Side through the Rev-Up MKE program,” said Kelsey Otero, Senior Director of Community Engagement at Marquette University and project lead for the Rev-Up MKE competition.
Joyce’s House Education Center will also receive $25,000 in in-kind services (architectural renderings, small business consulting, free legal audit, possible representation, and communication support), but Butts was less worried about the money and more focused on being reassured that the transition from the sober house to education center was the right move.
“It’s a gift to be able to help my community,” said Butts.
Along with paying off some bills, and gearing up to find a brick-and-motor on Milwaukee’s Near Westside, Butts is going to use the funding to expand programming. In the near future, Joyce’s House Education Center will offer job readiness and a virtual reading program. According to Wisconsin Literacy, 25% of Milwaukee adult residents can’t read at a 3rd-grade reading level.
“[Reading] is the most solvable Civil Rights problem of all time,” said Butts. “This is a human right and our people fought for it and died for it.”
Through a partnership with a software company, Joyce’s House Education Center’s virtual reading program guarantees an increase in grade level within just 30 days if you study three times a week.
“Each one, teach one, pass on the book,” she said.
To learn more about Joyce’s House Education Center click here.