A Space To Grow and Flourish

Jan. 1, 2026

Knights in Maryland help expand a maternity home to support mothers and their babies

By Katie Yoder

Jan. 1, 2026

Chana Gaskins and her three children enjoy some time playing outside. — Chana Gaskins and her three children enjoy some time playing together in November. As a young mother, Gaskins received support as a resident of a Gabriel Network maternity home in Ellicott City, Md. (Photo by Michael Connor)

Chana Gaskins still remembers how a maternity home supported by the Knights of Columbus changed her life — and her baby boy’s.

“I had the space to be with my child in a really good environment, in a really good neighborhood, and in my own space,” recalled Gaskins, who lived at a Gabriel Network maternity home in Ellicott City, Maryland. “That part was everything I needed at the time.”

Women like Gaskins are the reason why the Gabriel Network — a Maryland-based nonprofit offering free housing and support to pregnant and parenting mothers — partnered with Knights of Columbus councils across the state to renovate and expand a maternity home outside the nation’s capital. Their message to women in crisis: You are not alone.

On a crisp afternoon last November, more than 50 people — young families, retirees, and longtime supporters — gathered to celebrate the reopening of a Gabriel Network maternity home in Bowie. Each had played a role in turning the 1960s cream-colored rambler into a welcoming refuge. Applause broke out as Mary Ann McCaffrey, who donated the house with her late husband, Mac, in 1998, cut a ribbon at the front door. The crowd cheered again when Pat Brady, past grand knight of William E. Baldwin Sr. Council 17990 in nearby Millersville, snipped a second ribbon at the entrance to the newly completed addition.

“This is such a gift — to be standing here today, thanking God for all the gifts through all of you, and to be able to support the pregnant women who come to us alone and afraid,” said Tiffany Farley, executive director of Gabriel Network. “Look at the group of people we have — and to be able to show women God’s love through all of us.”

Farley commended the ongoing support of the Knights, who have walked with Gabriel Network since the beginning. The recent expansion brought together Knights at every level — from the Supreme Council, through the ASAP (Aid and Support After Pregnancy) program, to the Maryland State Council, which spearheaded the funding effort, to Brady’s council and numerous others that helped make the project a reality.

“I told the guys, this one’s not optional,” said Brady, who oversaw the construction. “We’ve got to help, whatever it takes.”

BUILT BY MANY HANDS

The home’s new addition, named “The McCaffrey House” in honor of Mac and Mary Ann McCaffrey, began with a storm-damaged fence. Members of Sacred Heart Council 2577 in Bowie and Council 17990 — including Brady — replaced the fence two years ago on a sweltering, 100-degree day.

That’s when Farley shared her long-held dream: to expand the home to include an apartment where a family could live alongside and accompany residents. Brady had previously repaired a shattered window after the house was vandalized following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade. He didn’t forget Farley’s proposal — and a few months later, he offered to help bring the idea to life.

“We have a very long history with the Knights,” said Farley. “We would not have been able to put this addition on without their support.”

Founded in 1995, Gabriel Network empowers women in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area through practical, emotional and spiritual support. Its range of free services includes a bilingual helpline, church-based mentoring, scholarships, transitional housing and transportation. The network’s maternity homes in Bowie and Gaithersburg offer women a safe, stable place to live during pregnancy and for the first six months after their babies are born.

Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William Lori offers a blessing of the Gabriel Network’s expanded maternity home in May 2025. (Spirit Juice Studios)

Local Knights have long supported the ministry with baby bottle campaigns, donations and volunteer assistance. The Bowie home, donated in 1998, opened in 2000 after a renovation effort led by Anthony Salvemini, then grand knight of Council 2577. Now Maryland state deputy, Salvemini once again played a key role in the latest project.

The expansion and renovation were completed in two phases: the addition of an on-site apartment (May 2024 – January 2025), followed by renovation of the original home (March – September 2025). Salvemini coordinated statewide fundraising and secured additional support through the Order’s ASAP program. Under the program, the Supreme Council agreed to match 20% of qualifying donations — up to $50,000 — if at least 25 councils participated.

The Maryland Knights surpassed the goal. By March 2025, 33 councils and two assemblies had contributed, along with three local chapters and several individual Knights. Together, they raised nearly $60,000 — with an additional $10,000 provided through the ASAP match.

“When I first was approached about coming up with $50,000 in a short period of time,” Salvemini said, “I figured we’d do our best but didn’t think we’re going to get to $50,000. We ended up with over $70,000.”

Brady, a licensed general contractor, also played a lead role, donating his time and expertise to oversee the construction. During the renovation phase, he and other members of Council 17990 managed the project and provided much of the labor and funding.

Tiffany Farley joins Pat Brady in cutting the ribbon on the new maternity home addition in Bowie, Md. — Tiffany Farley, executive director of Gabriel Network, joins Pat Brady in cutting the ribbon on the new maternity home addition in Bowie, Md., named in Brady’s honor. A past grand knight of William E. Baldwin Sr. Council 17990 in Millersville, Md., Brady oversaw the construction project. (Photo by Daniel Kucin Jr.)

Additional donations — $6,500 from local councils and $1,200 through the ASAP program — helped cover materials such as paint and flooring. College Knights from St. José Luis Sánchez del Río Council 18656 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, also volunteered their time, while others supported an Amazon wish list to furnish the new space.

Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore visited the home in May 2025 to offer a blessing of the expanded home.

“At the core of the Knights of Columbus — as our first principle — is charity,” he said. “What we are doing here is loving women who are in their most vulnerable state and showing them that someone cares about them.”

A FAMILY ENVIRONMENT

Thanks in part to the Knights’ efforts, Brie Babatope — the Bowie home’s new “house mom” — and her family can now live with the pregnant and parenting women they serve.

“I’m looking forward to living alongside them through this process of welcoming new life into the world,” said Babatope, who previously served as a live-in resident assistant for Gabriel Network. “Prayerfully, I can be an example of Christ and impact them in a way where they’re more drawn to him.”

Brie, her husband, and their two young daughters moved into the new apartment in January 2025. During the reopening of the home on Nov. 15, they welcomed visitors into their space. Dubbed “The Brady Suite,” the apartment features a private entrance, living and dining areas, a kitchen, two bedrooms, a full bath, a walk-in closet and laundry facilities.

“Any small family would really be able to function and flourish very well in this space,” Babatope affirmed.

Brie Babatope beams with joy as she greets visitors to the “Brady Suite. — Brie Babatope beams with joy as she greets visitors to the “Brady Suite,” where she now resides with her family while serving “house mom” of the maternity home. (Photo by Daniel Kucin Jr.)

The apartment opens to a shared patio and backyard that connect to the larger maternity home, located in a walkable neighborhood near churches, public transit, a grocery store and childcare. The home accommodates up to four pregnant or parenting women, each with her own bedroom. Shared areas include a kitchen, dining and living rooms, bathrooms, laundry space, and a computer room.

Within a few weeks of the November reopening, one woman had already moved in, and another was interviewing to become a resident.

Finishing touches turn the house into a home. A cheerful doormat greets visitors with a “Hello,” while a sign in the entryway — quoting Deuteronomy 28:6 — reads: “You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.”

Every room was prayed over and decorated with intention, explained Alexandra Fabian, the home’s director. Each of the four bedrooms is painted and furnished in a distinct color — blue, yellow, green or pink — and accented with area rugs, rocking chairs, curtain lights, diffusers and mini succulents. Hanging from the walls are framed Bible verses, pictures of flowers, and an image of Jesus washing the feet of a pregnant woman.

“The whole goal is that every mom feels as though she’s a daughter of the King, a princess of God, and that she’s loved — not just her, but her baby as well,” said Fabian.

For years to come, the home will serve women like Chana Gaskins, who came to Gabriel Network 10 years ago when she had nowhere else to turn. At the time, she was living in a two-bedroom home with two other families — feeling overwhelmed, shocked, and alone. The now-closed Ellicott City home, which had received financial and volunteer support from Father Joseph J. Comyns Council 9638, changed that. It gave Gaskins not only a place to live, but also a sense of stability and belonging.

Today, Gaskins is the mother of three. She owns her own home and recently earned a master’s degree in strategic communications from the University of Maryland. Her son Ki, the baby she carried then, is now an energetic 9-year-old.

As for Farley, she continues to see the Knights not just as partners, but as family.

“They’re like brothers; they’re friends; they’re companions who are just able to help us, to protect us, and to honor what we do,” she said. “And they honor the lives of the women and children who come through this home.”

*****

KATIE YODER is a freelance writer based in the Washington, D.C., area.

Rising to the Challenge

Knights ramp up pro-life support as pregnancy resource centers face unprecedented demand

With the costs of health care, housing and basic necessities on the rise, pregnancy resource centers and maternity homes play an increasingly vital role in supporting mothers during and after pregnancy. According to a recent study by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, pregnancy resource centers in the United States served over one million clients in 2024, a nearly 15% increase over 2017. The same study reported a 59% increase in ultrasounds provided by pregnancy resource centers during the same time period, as women seek more information about their pregnancies. Fortunately, Knights of Columbus councils have responded to the growing need through financial and material support and by strengthening their commitment to life.

A sonographer at the St. John Paul II Life Center and Vitae Clinic in Austin, Texas, shows a couple their unborn child. The clinic uses multiple ultrasound machines donated through the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative. (OSV News photo/courtesy JPII Life Center and Vitae Clinic)

Since January 2009, the Knights of Columbus Ultrasound Initiative has helped equip qualifying pregnancy resource centers and pro-life medical clinics with life-saving ultrasound machines. And shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, the Order launched the ASAP (Aid and Support After Pregnancy) program.

Through ASAP, every $500 a council or assembly donates to a qualifying pregnancy resource center or maternity home — up to $2,000 — is matched with a $100 grant from the Supreme Council. Assistance can be both financial and material, including diapers, baby formula and other essentials.

Since 2022, more than 3,200 councils and assemblies have supported ASAP, providing over $19 million (including Supreme Council grants) to more than 2,000 pregnancy resource centers and 126 maternity homes.

Meanwhile, the Ultrasound Initiative enables councils and assemblies to raise money to cover half the cost of an ultrasound machine, which is then matched by the Culture of Life Fund. When local Knights raise 100% of the cost of a mobile ultrasound vehicle, the Supreme Council will cover 100% of the cost of the machine inside. Over the past 17 years, Knights have placed 2,054 ultrasound machines, valued at more than $97 million.

Learn more at kofc.org/asap and kofc.org/ultrasound.

Roger Foley (right), a man with an acute neurological disease with Lino DeFacendis (left) and Amber Scharf.

A Space To Grow and Flourish

BUILT BY MANY HANDS

A FAMILY ENVIRONMENT

Rising to the Challenge

Related Articles

Culture of Life

Not MAiD for This

Not MAiD for This

Culture of Life

People, Not Products

People, Not Products

Culture of Life

Knights March for Life in National, Regional Capitals

Knights March for Life in National, Regional Capitals

Culture of Life

For the Joy of Life

For the Joy of Life

Culture of Life

‘Why We March’

‘Why We March’

Culture of Life

Hope in the Heartland

Hope in the Heartland

Culture of Life

Speaking About Abortion

Speaking About Abortion

Culture of Life

The Hearts Beat On

The Hearts Beat On