About the emme coalition
Our Story
emme stands for empowerment, mindfulness, motivation, and education: the foundational values that guide everything we do. The emme coalition is a Black and Brown-led nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming maternal health for communities that have been historically excluded and underserved.
emme began as a pilot project through a powerful collaboration between the Fairfield County Community Foundation’s Fund for Women & Girls and OPTIMUS Health Care. Born out of lived experience and collective resilience, emme has since grown into a fully independent 501(c)(3) organization, taking bold steps to address the alarming disparities in maternal health outcomes, especially for Black and Brown pregnant women.
We believe that healing begins with listening. At emme, we walk alongside families through every stage of the reproductive journey by offering culturally grounded, community-based support that centers dignity, agency, and joy. We advocate for systems change while nurturing safe spaces for storytelling, resource-sharing, and personal transformation.
Rooted in love and led by those most impacted, emme is reimagining what maternal health looks like when communities are given the tools and the trust to lead.
Our Future
The emme coalition was born from a powerful truth: when Black and Brown women are trusted to lead, communities heal, systems shift, and futures transform.
As we look ahead, the future of emme is focused, urgent, and full of promise. We are building more than a nonprofit. We are building a movement rooted in justice, care, and possibility.
At the heart of our vision is the emme Safe Haven, a physical and emotional sanctuary designed by and for Black and Brown families. This will be a welcoming space where families can gather, heal, learn, and grow. It will offer wraparound support throughout the reproductive journey, from prenatal education to postpartum care, including:
- Culturally grounded doula and midwifery support
- Mental health and wellness programming
- Workshops on parenting, advocacy, and economic empowerment
- Peer-led storytelling and healing circles
- Resource navigation and case management
- Transitional housing for mothers, children, and babies who have experienced abuse or neglect
- On-site day care and preschool to support working and healing parents
The emme Safe Haven is so much more than just a clinic. It is a sacred community space, a home base for those too often pushed to the margins, and a model that redefines maternal health from the inside out.
But this is just the beginning.
Our long-term vision includes training a new generation of community birth workers, expanding our advocacy and policy work, and building out digital and in-person networks of support that extend across Fairfield County and beyond. We are committed to challenging the systemic racism embedded in healthcare and offering real, community-rooted alternatives.
We believe that liberation begins at the womb. And we are doing the work every single day to create a future where every birth is safe, every voice is heard, and every family is empowered.