Marian Homes, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that provides
homes for people with moderate to severe intellectual
disabilities, officially opened its third home June 25 at a
ceremony at the Gresham Street location in north Springfield.
The new home, Queen of Peace, will house five men. Four are
in residence now, and the fifth will be joining soon.
Marian Homes was founded in 1994 by a group of Knights of
Columbus from Council No. 8600 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church
in Fairfax. The men had a vision of a network of homes
created to assist persons with intellectual and physical
disabilities to lead a normal life in their own home.
“It’s their home,” said Bill Crowder, president of Marian
Homes. “Marian Homes owns the house, but it’s the residents’
home.”
The corporation bought and renovated their first residence,
Marian House, in 1997, and the original building continues to
house five women. A second home for five men, Regina House,
soon followed in 2009.
Marian Homes partnered with Fairfax County’s Department of
Housing and Community Development (DCHD) for financial
assistance in purchasing the newest home.
“This was made possible by the Community Development Block
Grant program of the (U.S.) Department of Housing and Urban
Development,” said Beverly Moses, DCHD Housing and Community
Developer.
Marian Homes took possession of the newest home Feb. 26.
Almost immediately, three teams of Knights spent three days
demolishing the inside walls in preparation for extensive
renovation, many mandated by the Americans with Disabilities
Act. Those mandates include wider hallways, wider doors and
special bathroom facilities. Renovations also included a
wheelchair ramp to the front door donated by the Hensel
Phelps Construction Company.
Total renovation cost $105,000, and the construction was
completed earlier than planned.
All Marian Homes are operated in partnership with Chimes,
Inc., a nonprofit organization serving the disabled.
There were many guests on hand for the grand opening and
blessing, including Father James S. Barkett, pastor of St.
Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax, Virginia State Deputy
Stephen A. Burnley, Fairfax County Supervisor John Cook and
Virginia Delegate Tim Hugo.
Father Barkett said a prayer and blessed the house,
sprinkling holy water at the rear of the residence. People
then moved to the front where Cook and Crowder cut a
ceremonial ribbon.
Steve Smith, a Knight from Woodbridge, has established Able
Charities to provide a similar service in the Woodbridge
area. He’s been working with Marian Homes’ directors to study
their approach to group homes.
“They’re trying to get others to copy what they do,” said
Smith.
County officials praised the work of the Knights in making
these homes available. There is a continuing need for these
kinds of services. “It’s a great cause. People should be very
proud,” said George Wassif, a director of Marian Homes.
It took nearly 20 years for Marian Homes to get three
residences operational. But things are moving faster now. The
Fairfax County is scheduled to close the Northern Virginia
Training Center by March 2016, a facility that currently
houses people with intellectual disabilities. The
organization is looking to add a fourth home to its system to
serve some of the people who will be displaced by the
closing.
Borowski can be reached at [email protected]
or on Twitter @DBorowskiACH.
