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Word about Rita O’Brien and the good she is doing at Emmanuel House International in Carmel filtered in from several sources in the pro-life community over the past year, long before I had a chance to speak with her on the phone last week.
Truth be told, I prefer to hear others sing someone’s praises than have the person promote herself. Mrs. O’Brien had a host of people speaking up on her behalf, and it turns out she herself had a story to tell that is right in tune with Respect Life Month, which is ending.
Two years ago, on Nov. 1, she opened Emmanuel House International, a crisis pregnancy and after-birth support service center on Fair Street in Carmel. It’s a 1,100-square-foot space in the back of the building behind a pizzeria and next to Our Lady of the Lakes Knights of Columbus Council 6318.
Mrs. O’Brien was responding to a need, as Birthright of Northern Westchester and Putnam had closed its office in the same building, where she had served for six years as director. Naturally, that set off a round of questions from local churches and resource providers, who asked, “Where do we send these women now? Can you do something?”
Before she knew it, she was setting up a board of directors and incorporating Emmanuel House International as a nonprofit public charity. The incorporation became official on Aug. 15, 2013, the feast of the Assumption. Emmanuel, as many know, means “God is with us.”
“We thought it would be a comfort to the women to know that God is with them,” said Mrs. O’Brien, who besides founding the center also serves as executive director. The clientele, more than 300 registered moms and expectant moms, are international in scope. Mrs. O’Brien notes that her “Spanglish,” as she calls it, is improving, but that she could always use more volunteers, especially bilingual ones, to add to her roster of 12. A number of volunteers have been forced to seek paid employment recently as an economic pinch is being felt in the area.
She told me Emmanuel House follows a Franciscan-based model, meaning that it is, in her words, “a little more inclusive, more of a family focus.” That may mean providing clothing or vouchers to nearby thrift shops for the older children of a pregnant mom. “When Mom is in crisis, the whole family is in crisis,” she said.
Emmanuel House provides lots of other services too. It helps clients and families create individual action plans for their pregnancy, the birth of the baby and support afterward.
Other services include making self-administered tests available so clients can learn whether they are pregnant, the first step toward developing their unique action plans; providing reference materials on pregnancy, fetal development, childbirth, infant care, parenting skills, child safety and other topics; and referring clients to local resource providers for assistance with health care, counseling, insurance, child care, transportation, rent, education, employment, housing, nutrition, legal and other issues.
The center’s motto is a catchy one: “Out of Crisis and on Your Feet.” Emmanuel House doesn’t go it alone. Local parishes are among her biggest supporters, including St. Denis, Hopewell Junction, Mrs. O’Brien’s home parish; St. James the Apostle, Carmel; St. John the Evangelist, Mahopac; St. Joseph’s, Somers; and Our Lady of Loretto, Cold Spring.
As you might imagine, financial donations have been a little slow in coming, especially considering the newness of the operation. Emmanuel House has no major donors or ongoing sponsors for its worthwhile work. Mrs. O’Brien chalked it up to being the “new kid on the block.”
It is doing many things right, however. If you’d like to find out a little bit more, take a look at the center’s website: www.EmmanuelHouseInternational.org
I found out all I needed to know when I called Mrs. O’Brien for our interview appointment. She had to call me back later. She was helping a mom.
