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Our Lady of Mount Carmel pastoral center to offer free education, nutrition and mental-health programs
Summary
A newly relaunched pastoral center in Elmsford plans free pre-K through teen education, nutrition classes with Cornell, and weekly mental-health services through Catholic-affiliated partners beginning this fall and winter, presenters told the Village Board.
Vera Galleas, who said she will become executive director of the pastoral center tomorrow, told the Village Board on Oct. 6 that a newly organized pastoral center associated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel will offer free programs for all residents, including pre-K faith-formation, teen and preteen education, nutrition classes and weekly mental-health services.
Galleas said the center has a written curriculum for youth academic and college-preparation support and has arranged nutrition programming with Cornell’s nutrition department. “It will be completely free, thanks to Our Lady of Mount Carmel,” she said. She also said a mental-health partner called Dorset, connected to Catholic Charities, will be stationed at the pastoral center once a week starting in October, and that a seniors arts-and-mental-health program will run in November.
The center’s offerings will extend beyond church members. “Just because it’s out of Our Lady of our own church doesn’t mean that it’s only for Catholics,” Galleas said. She said the center will offer free services for children, adults and seniors, and that construction work to ready the building is expected to begin at the end of the year. Galleas said she plans to mail a packet of program information to the board and will share contact information once available.
Trustees and attendees praised the initiative. One trustee noted Elmsford’s pastoral center is only the second in the Archdiocese of New York outside the Bronx and described the range of services such centers have provided in other communities, from immigration help and legal services to medical and social-security assistance.
The presentation did not include formal board action. Galleas described planned timelines and partners but did not provide detailed grant names or contract text during the meeting; she said some programs are funded by state grants and by the parish.
The board did not vote on any measure related to the pastoral center during the work session; Galleas asked attendees to wait for the mailed packet for full program details.
