“I was an adopted child, but I wish my birth mom had been in
a place as loving as this,” said Craig Hartman, looking
around a room furnished with everything from diapers and
swaddling blankets to a bedside Bible and rocking chair. “My
birth mother went to a cold place where girls were shamed
into giving away their babies. This place empowers girls; it
shows so much love.”
Hartman was among more than 200 supporters and community
members to attend an open house, ribbon-cutting and luncheon
at the new Paul Stefan Regional Home of Virginia May 1.
Located in downtown Orange, the stately building was built in
the mid-1920s as an inn and later used as an assisted-living
facility for adults. Given new life and plenty of fresh
paint, the 27-room facility eventually will house women in
crisis pregnancies and offer educational programs, counseling
and faith-based support.
Just before cutting the ribbon in the home’s foyer, Paul
Stefan Foundation co-founder Randy James thanked the crowd of
supporters.
“The love you brought through your support is what we will
show them here,” said James, who hopes the regional home will
serve as a model for similar programs in other states.
The Sunday event marked the end of phase 1 renovations and
showcased a third-floor kitchen and seven bedrooms with
bathrooms, along with a ground floor filled with large
windows and photographs of babies born at the two current
Paul Stefan Foundation Homes in Unionville. The
Unionville homes will be stepping stones to independent
living for the women and their children. Plans for phase 2
include the addition of an educational center, daycare,
playground, and a kitchen that will double as a training
space and community soup kitchen. During the final phase,
bedrooms on the middle floor will be renovated.
James, a parishioner of St. Patrick Church in Fredericksburg,
estimates it will cost $1 million to complete his vision for
the home. “People thought I was crazy when I told them what I
wanted to do years ago,” he said, smiling. But with ongoing
assistance from numerous Arlington diocesan parishes,
pro-life organizations, the Orange County Chamber of
Commerce, local businesses and individual donors, his dream
is becoming a reality.
Additional support is needed to meet the goal of welcoming
women into the first seven rooms by July 1 and continuing
with the second and third phases. A $2,500 donation “takes
care of the behind-the-scenes work,” such as plumbing and
electrical wiring, said James. A donation of the same amount
will furnish a room. Or a group can take the hands-on
approach and paint and furnish the room themselves.
The completed third-floor bedrooms each “have a unique
flavor” because a different group worked preparing the rooms
for the women, said James.
The Paul Stefan Foundation is named for the son of James and
his wife, Evelyn, co-founder of the nonprofit. Their son died
in 2005 an hour after being born without lungs. Even though
they knew the baby’s lungs would not be developed and Evelyn
was encouraged to have a late-term abortion, she carried the
baby to term. With support from Father Stefan P. Starzynski,
now chaplain at Inova Fairfax Hospital, the couple
established the memorial foundation.
“God gave our Paul Stefan an amazing set of lungs, because
they will breathe existence into the homes for expectant
mothers,” said James, who said he believes “God wants (the
homes for women) and is making this happen.”
A unique regional home
While crisis pregnancy centers typically focus on serving
local women, the new home will welcome expectant mothers from
across Virginia. The regional home also is unique in offering
on-site education and allowing longer lengths of stay.
“They can live there for two, four, five years – whatever it
takes,” said James. The intent is to invest in the women with
time, resources and love, giving them the tools needed to
thrive long-term.
Through partnerships with local teachers, the Virginia
Initiative for Employment Not Welfare and other groups, the
facility will provide education in the culinary arts,
information technology, personal care and certified nursing
assistant certifications. The Paul Stefan Foundation also is
partnering with a number of local universities and community
colleges and is applying for a grant through the National
Science Foundation to offer education in technology-focused
fields.
“You can’t raise a family on a job at McDonald’s,” said
James, adding that a strong educational foundation allows for
a strong career.
James said counseling will help women struggling with
underlying emotional and psychological issues, some of which
may have led to their crisis pregnancies.
Danielle Nicholson, mother to a 3-year-old, was at the open
house. She said one of the Paul Stefan Homes in Unionville
gave her just what she needed about four years ago after
finding out she was pregnant with little familial support.
She’s since earned an associate’s degree while caring for her
daughter. She currently works two part-time jobs, including
as a substitute teacher for Head Start, a federal program for
preschool children from low-income families. Her goal is to
someday be a social worker.
“I hope the women who come here realize the opportunity
they’ve been given and run full speed ahead with their hopes
and dreams,” said Nicholson. “Because this place won’t let
you fall.”
How to help
To support the Paul Stefan Regional Home of Virginia, go to
paulstefanhome.org or
call 540/854-2300.