Catholic Charities to hold ribbon-cutting for LifeHouse grand opening

Catholic Charities of Southern Missouri (CCSOMO) will open its newly constructed LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home at 535 Main St. in Cape Girardeau with a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Friday, April 19.

LifeHouse will assist pregnant women and new mothers who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Each mother, after filling out an application, will be able to live in one of 15 small suites with their newborn and up to one additional child younger than 5 years old.

“They can come any time during their pregnancy, from the time you get a positive test to right before you deliver, and they can stay for up to a year,” said Jill Guise, CCSOMO volunteer and outreach specialist.

The women will learn how to find education or a job, how to best care for their children and give them a head start in positively contributing to society once they leave the facility.

This will be CCSOMO’s second LifeHouse location. The first one was built in Springfield in 2013 and has welcomed 141 babies so far.

“It (the Cape Girardeau location) is the LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home, but we just refer to it as the Little Flower Campus in contrast to the Springfield LifeHouse Crisis Maternity Home, which is the St. Anne’s Campus,” ex officio CCSOMO board member Richard Cuba said.

Cuba added that this LifeHouse was built when CCSOMO personnel realized the need for such a facility on the eastern side of the state.

Friday’s grand opening celebration will be followed by an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 20.

LifeHouse has advertised in church bulletins and held a volunteer fair to find helpers.

“In terms of volunteering, we need people to provide child care, helping to prep and cook food in our kitchen, and a biggie is transportation for LifeHouse residents because most of them won’t have vehicles,” Guise said.

Other volunteering needs are for tutoring, maintenance, security and clerical work.

LifeHouse construction began Jan. 30, 2023. A capital campaign raised more than $9 million to fund its construction and to help with its operations.

The first LifeHouse resident is scheduled to move in a few days after the ribbon-cutting.