Last week, Nuns on the Bus traveled to Chicago’s South Side to visit Mercy Housing, a home for low-income and homeless people, sponsored by a variety of women’s religious orders. There, Sister Simone met resident Shiesha Smith, a former felon facing a number of personal challenges who says Mercy Housing took her “away from all of that madness.” Meet Smith in the video below, and watch Sister Simone Campbell explain how public-private partnerships create such opportunities.

Producer/shooter: Andrew Fredericks; editor: Lauren Feeney; production assistant Jackie Kostek