With a pair of scissors in hand, Sonji Rawson readied herself to snip the ceremonial ribbon that stood between her and her new home. Well-wishers cheered as she and her housemate made the cut. Sonji triumphantly pumped her fist in the air as bits of ribbon fluttered to the driveway of the suburban home in Winchester, Virginia. She and her mother, Judy, had been waiting for this day, Sept. 28, 2024, for a long time.
Sonji, who has intellectual disabilities, lived with her mother all her life. But when she turned 55, she said, “I’m a senior adult, and I want to be independent.”
The process of finding a safe, nearby group home was long and arduous. Then, in early 2024, the mother and daughter learned that a new single-sex group home was opening just 3 miles away from them.
The Winchester abode is the ninth house purchased, renovated and maintained by Marian Homes, a nonprofit organization established nearly 30 years ago by St. Mary of Sorrows Council 8600 in Fairfax Station, Virginia. The new home in Winchester, a city in the Shenandoah Valley, is the first Marian Home outside of Fairfax County. Together, the nine Marian Homes serve some 45 residents.
“The Knights of Columbus got involved because we’re committed to helping the widow and the orphan and the outcast,” said Jim McHugh, the current president of Marian Homes and a past grand knight of Council 8600. “Many people in our society want to push away people with intellectual disabilities and forget about them and hide them. We say no — we want them to be accepted and celebrated in our communities.”
LAYING THE FOUNDATION
In 1994, Dick LaFrance was the grand knight of St. Mary of Sorrows Council 8600. As he and his brother Knights looked for ways to reinvigorate their council, they felt they needed a new initiative to unify them.
With the Order’s longstanding support for people with intellectual disabilities in mind, the idea for Marian Homes, named in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was born.
“I can’t even begin to tell you the challenges that we had, because we knew nothing about either purchasing the home or navigating through different legalities,” LaFrance recalled.
Father Bob Cilinski, then president of a similar charity called Gabriel Homes, as well as chaplain of nearby George Mason University and its K of C council, became a mentor to the Knights of Council 8600. Fairfax County administrators shepherded the Knights through the process and introduced them to Chimes Virginia, an organization that signed on to run the first group home. KOVAR, a Virginia Knights of Columbus nonprofit dedicated to the needs of the intellectually disabled since 1971, also supported the initiative with grant money.
“We had our little fundraisers at (the parish) hall at St. Mary’s — ours was nickels and dimes,” LaFrance recalled with a laugh, adding that a September 2024 gala in Fairfax raised $15,000 for Marian Homes.
In 1998, just two years after Marian Homes was founded, the first home opened for five women with intellectual disabilities. LaFrance credits the whole process to the work of the Holy Spirit.
“It encouraged me to believe that God always helps us when we are doing his work,” he said. “Clearly Marian Homes was part of his plan. Even to this day it’s unbelievable.”
Ercole Barone, Fred Walker, Tom McFarlane and Bill Crowder, each of whom served as officers of Council 8600, succeeded LaFrance as presidents of Marian Homes.
Today, the Knights have a good idea of what it takes to open a new Marian Home, said current president Jim McHugh.
“We start on Zillow, and then go into the houses and inspect them,” he explained. “Sometimes extensive renovations are needed. It’s a big challenge and a big undertaking, but the teamwork from fellow Knights and members of the community to turn a house into a home for people with intellectual disabilities is rewarding and uplifting.”
Renovations often include making houses wheelchair accessible, so the residents can age without requiring a move. The homes are then dedicated. Arlington Bishop Michael Burbidge has blessed four of the homes during ribbon-cutting ceremonies.
“Marian Homes reflect our response to the mandate of Jesus to love one another, especially those in need,” Bishop Burbidge said. “People with intellectual disabilities are among the most vulnerable in our society. Providing them a home where they can feel safe and where their dignity as children of God is celebrated shows our care and compassion in response to the Gospel of life.”
EXPANDING THE BLUEPRINT
Marian Homes opened its second group home in 2010, later followed by a quick succession of new Fairfax County homes in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021. But recently, Marian Homes has grown in a different way.
“We’ve been very proud to do this on our own for so many years, but we knew that it needed to get bigger,” said McHugh. “We changed our bylaws, and we made rules to expand this fraternity.”
The new Marian Home in Winchester, named after Our Lady of Guadalupe, is more than 60 miles from Fairfax County. And though Marian Homes continues to be Knights-of-Columbus-run, the board of directors has added other members as well.
Lisa Anthony-Price is one of them. About a year ago, she and Steve Cantu, a past grand knight of Deacon Edward L. Christianson Council 3572 in Winchester, were talking about how to bring an organization like Marian Homes to the area.
“I have a daughter who has intellectual disabilities, and there are just no good options here,” said Anthony-Price, who works as executive director of operations and development at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester. “Although I don’t know if my daughter is going to end up living in a Marian Home, it’s lovely for me to see such a beautiful place where people like my Tessa can live and contribute to society.”
The need for these kinds of group residences is enormous, said McHugh.
In Virginia alone, “there’s a waiting list of over 15,000 people [with disabilities] looking for affordable housing in a group-home setting,” he explained. “We know that we’re not going to be able to fulfill that need for all 15,000, but we’re going to do our little part to make a difference in the world.”
McHugh believes the work of Marian Homes is the kind of work Blessed Michael McGivney would have envisioned for the Knights of Columbus.
“We’re committed to changing the world for the better,” he affirmed. “When we knock down walls, we’re knocking down barriers in the community. And in every community that we’ve been in, we’ve changed hearts and minds.”
MAKING THE MOVE
As Judy Rawson looked into the new house in Winchester as a possible residence for her daughter, Sonji, she knew she had found the right place.
“Whenever God calls me home,” Judy said, “I want her to be grounded and to have other people that she can be close to. She’s already calling the other residents her little sisters. She said she was going to pray with them and talk with them at night if they get lonely.”
“I love it,” said Sonji, who has embraced the new adventure and is happy to have her own room.
A resident of another Marian Home, 49-year-old Tommy Komara, was similarly excited to pick out his room when he moved two years ago. His walls are now decorated with movie posters and religious art, and his dresser is covered with photos of family and friends. He enjoys working part-time at the TJ Maxx in Fairfax and participating in outings with his two housemates.
Even before he moved, Tommy, who is a member of Council 8600, was helping his council grow the Marian Homes ministry. He and his father, Thomas, also a member, were part of the interior demolition teams for two Marian Homes in need of renovations.
“The demolition was really fun,” recalled Tommy, who helped knock down some walls with a sledgehammer.
Thomas helps lead the Knights’ efforts to maintain the homes, serving as a house captain of one of the properties, which is rented and operated by a partnering organization.
“I do an inspection every month to make sure that the house stays up and running. We take care of the property, the building, the furnace, all of the appliances,” Thomas explained. “Every one of the homes has a house captain who does the same thing, and we have a meeting once a month to discuss priorities for all the homes.”
Being familiar with Marian Homes made Tommy’s move easier, said his mother, Rita.
“We had discussed with Tommy the eventuality of moving to a residence, because he knew and we knew that such a day would come,” Rita said. “And we just prayed for the right fit and the right place.”
The family looked into another housing organization, but its homes were farther away and had a yearslong waiting list. When the Our Lady of Angels Home opened in 2022, they decided to apply, since it was only 10 minutes away and Tommy’s siblings also lived in the area.
“The path was leading us right to this house,” said Thomas.
When the Komaras were moving back to northern Virginia after years in North Carolina, Tommy remembered how unexpected and exciting it was when they were able to find a home in the boundaries of his sister’s parish, St. Mary of Sorrows. It ultimately led them to Council 8600 and to Marian Homes.
“I think it’s all part of God’s life plan for me and my family,” Tommy said. “I think it’s a blessing.”