Carmel organization working to help those who are pregnant, homeless

CARMEL — At The O'Connor House, employees focus on meeting those they serve where they are.

"We provide love, care, resources and support for them," Michelle Corraro, executive director, said.

The House helps women who are pregnant while experiencing homelessness. They provide a place to stay and teach the women life shills like budgeting, making goals and maintaining a schedule.

"Asking for help is hard, but when you're a parent, you have to be the strong one and you have to be courageous," Airika Goode said. "You have to be strong enough to know do I want to break the cycle or do I want to keep repeating the same cycle and drag my kid through it? I knew I wanted to break the cycle and be a good mom for my son."

Three years ago, Goode came to the O'Connor House when she was 19 weeks pregnant.

"I was a mess at that time in my life. I was not okay; I was mentally not okay. I was in a very dark place; I was nowhere near prepared to be a parent," Goode said. "I knew I had to make a change, because my son deserved the world."

Now, Goode is an alumni of the O'Connor House and mom to 3-year-old Theo, who she calls the light of her life.

The house is a place for up to eight women and their children to call home. Aside from lots of toys for the little ones, there are also resources for the moms.

"We can provide the tools and the love and the support. But they have to use those tools and sometimes that's really difficult," Corraro said. "Every life thing you can think about there is someone here to help you walk you through it."