The Remarkable Life of Emidio

Emidio’s family fled the Republic of Congo when he a young child, fearing for their lives due to religious and political oppression. His parents settled in Portugal and after a strict education in military type schools, his family saw opportunity for their children and immigrated to America. At the time, Emidio spoke Portuguese, French and Spanish. At 17, he learned his fourth language, English, in a hurry so he could complete school and get to work. He traveled around the US sampling employment and culture. Yes the urban myth is true—he is on the cover of the Woodstock album!

Emidio Rosa joined our agency in 2004 as Supervisor in our Community Services Unit. He brought with him a depth of social service knowledge after many years in the Catholic Diocese charitable services arm, St. Vincent DePaul. Emidio also has a lifetime of experiences around the world which underscores his valuable insights and capacity to understand human experiences.

In his many manufacturing jobs, he was recognized for his capacity to make a persuasive argument and became a union steward here in RI.  His skills at negotiating even brought him outside the US organizing workers in South America who labored in the rubber trade. At the local level, his many years of advocacy with the George Wiley Center, DHS and the Governor’s Energy Office laid the groundwork for CCA being invited to join the LIHEAP network in 2018.

Emidio has led his team at the Family Support Center to serve over 4000 families each year and do their very best to meet people where they’re at in their life journey.  When he’s not advocating for the people he serves, he can be found cooking for a crowd during his club’s Portuguese feast days, fishing in the Bay or enjoying his grandchildren’s latest stories. 

Happy Retirement Emidio!