![Children with disabilities reveal ‘beautiful diversity’ #Catholic – In 1983, Cubby LaHood was pregnant with her first child and wanted to work from home. She decided to offer daycare for children with disabilities because that’s what she had experience doing. Cubby and her husband Dan came to name their ministry St. Joseph’s House and raised their own kids there, including Joe, who now runs St. Joseph’s House with his wife Natalie.
During a “Christopher Closeup” interview, Joe explained, “When you’re a child growing up in this environment, you adapt to what is around you…I was given so many gifts from the kids, in terms of being able to understand how we are all created in the image and likeness of God, no matter what we look like, what we sound like, if we can walk, if we can’t walk, how we eat, if we’re fed through a tube, or if we’re able to use our hands. Just being able to experience the beautiful diversity of the human person was such a gift to me as a child. And now that Natalie and I’s children get to experience that as well, it’s just incredible.”
Natalie didn’t get to know Joe until 10 years ago, but she had already developed her own passion for helping vulnerable human beings through volunteer work in the U.S. and Thailand. She said, “That instilled in me the importance of being able to be a compassionate presence for anyone in the world. The deepest desire of the human heart is to know that we’re not alone, that we’re loved by God and those around us, and to know that we have someone to accompany us.”
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When Natalie met Joe, he was the first person whose values and experiences reflected her own, so they immediately connected. Joe recalled, “We were engaged, and my mom had just died at age 58 after a years-long battle with ovarian and breast cancer. We knew how important this work was to all the families we serve, but we also knew that there were going to be many more families in the years to come and…they can live very isolated lives. We decided that we wanted to [run St. Joseph’s House] for our family, for their families, and to make it part of our greater community, which we have tried to do here in Hyattsville, Maryland.”
The “kids” at St. Joseph’s House range in age from five to 21, and the community they have found there is making a profound difference. Natalie said, “Many are with us, and with each other, for years of their childhood and adolescence. To see a nonverbal autistic child walk into our home and light up with a smile and know…where their friends are…where they know they’re known and loved and…they can come and be themselves, is beautiful to be a part of.”
Joe hopes that through their efforts at St. Joseph’s House—and through interviews like this—society will be more embracing of families dealing with disabilities. He concluded, “[Don’t] be afraid, if you see someone with a disability at the playground or at school, to treat them like a normal child and befriend them, or talk to their parents because it can be very isolating. I feel like that’s our mission at St. Joseph’s House: to help get kids and families out in the world so there can be encounters and real relationships made. We hope that’s what we do in our community, and we hope that that can happen in other communities as well.”
Tony Rossi is director of communications for The Christophers. For free copies of the Christopher News Note We Belong To Each Other, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th St., Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org](https://unitedyam.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/children-with-disabilities-reveal-beautiful-diversity-catholic-in-1983-cubby-lahood-was-pregnant-with-her-first-child-and-wanted-to-work-from-home-she-decided-to-offer-daycare-f.webp "Children with disabilities reveal ‘beautiful diversity’ #Catholic – In 1983, Cubby LaHood was pregnant with her first child and wanted to work from home. She decided to offer daycare for children with disabilities because that’s what she had experience doing. Cubby and her husband Dan came to name their ministry St. Joseph’s House and raised their own kids there, including Joe, who now runs St. Joseph’s House with his wife Natalie.
During a “Christopher Closeup” interview, Joe explained, “When you’re a child growing up in this environment, you adapt to what is around you…I was given so many gifts from the kids, in terms of being able to understand how we are all created in the image and likeness of God, no matter what we look like, what we sound like, if we can walk, if we can’t walk, how we eat, if we’re fed through a tube, or if we’re able to use our hands. Just being able to experience the beautiful diversity of the human person was such a gift to me as a child. And now that Natalie and I’s children get to experience that as well, it’s just incredible.”
Natalie didn’t get to know Joe until 10 years ago, but she had already developed her own passion for helping vulnerable human beings through volunteer work in the U.S. and Thailand. She said, “That instilled in me the importance of being able to be a compassionate presence for anyone in the world. The deepest desire of the human heart is to know that we’re not alone, that we’re loved by God and those around us, and to know that we have someone to accompany us.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
When Natalie met Joe, he was the first person whose values and experiences reflected her own, so they immediately connected. Joe recalled, “We were engaged, and my mom had just died at age 58 after a years-long battle with ovarian and breast cancer. We knew how important this work was to all the families we serve, but we also knew that there were going to be many more families in the years to come and…they can live very isolated lives. We decided that we wanted to [run St. Joseph’s House] for our family, for their families, and to make it part of our greater community, which we have tried to do here in Hyattsville, Maryland.”
The “kids” at St. Joseph’s House range in age from five to 21, and the community they have found there is making a profound difference. Natalie said, “Many are with us, and with each other, for years of their childhood and adolescence. To see a nonverbal autistic child walk into our home and light up with a smile and know…where their friends are…where they know they’re known and loved and…they can come and be themselves, is beautiful to be a part of.”
Joe hopes that through their efforts at St. Joseph’s House—and through interviews like this—society will be more embracing of families dealing with disabilities. He concluded, “[Don’t] be afraid, if you see someone with a disability at the playground or at school, to treat them like a normal child and befriend them, or talk to their parents because it can be very isolating. I feel like that’s our mission at St. Joseph’s House: to help get kids and families out in the world so there can be encounters and real relationships made. We hope that’s what we do in our community, and we hope that that can happen in other communities as well.”
Tony Rossi is director of communications for The Christophers. For free copies of the Christopher News Note We Belong To Each Other, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th St., Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org")
In 1983, Cubby LaHood was pregnant with her first child and wanted to work from home. She decided to offer daycare for children with disabilities because that’s what she had experience doing. Cubby and her husband Dan came to name their ministry St. Joseph’s House and raised their own kids there, including Joe, who now runs St. Joseph’s House with his wife Natalie.
During a “Christopher Closeup” interview, Joe explained, “When you’re a child growing up in this environment, you adapt to what is around you…I was given so many gifts from the kids, in terms of being able to understand how we are all created in the image and likeness of God, no matter what we look like, what we sound like, if we can walk, if we can’t walk, how we eat, if we’re fed through a tube, or if we’re able to use our hands. Just being able to experience the beautiful diversity of the human person was such a gift to me as a child. And now that Natalie and I’s children get to experience that as well, it’s just incredible.”
Natalie didn’t get to know Joe until 10 years ago, but she had already developed her own passion for helping vulnerable human beings through volunteer work in the U.S. and Thailand. She said, “That instilled in me the importance of being able to be a compassionate presence for anyone in the world. The deepest desire of the human heart is to know that we’re not alone, that we’re loved by God and those around us, and to know that we have someone to accompany us.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
When Natalie met Joe, he was the first person whose values and experiences reflected her own, so they immediately connected. Joe recalled, “We were engaged, and my mom had just died at age 58 after a years-long battle with ovarian and breast cancer. We knew how important this work was to all the families we serve, but we also knew that there were going to be many more families in the years to come and…they can live very isolated lives. We decided that we wanted to [run St. Joseph’s House] for our family, for their families, and to make it part of our greater community, which we have tried to do here in Hyattsville, Maryland.”
The “kids” at St. Joseph’s House range in age from five to 21, and the community they have found there is making a profound difference. Natalie said, “Many are with us, and with each other, for years of their childhood and adolescence. To see a nonverbal autistic child walk into our home and light up with a smile and know…where their friends are…where they know they’re known and loved and…they can come and be themselves, is beautiful to be a part of.”
Joe hopes that through their efforts at St. Joseph’s House—and through interviews like this—society will be more embracing of families dealing with disabilities. He concluded, “[Don’t] be afraid, if you see someone with a disability at the playground or at school, to treat them like a normal child and befriend them, or talk to their parents because it can be very isolating. I feel like that’s our mission at St. Joseph’s House: to help get kids and families out in the world so there can be encounters and real relationships made. We hope that’s what we do in our community, and we hope that that can happen in other communities as well.”
Tony Rossi is director of communications for The Christophers. For free copies of the Christopher News Note We Belong To Each Other, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th St., Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org
Children with disabilities reveal ‘beautiful diversity’ #Catholic –
In 1983, Cubby LaHood was pregnant with her first child and wanted to work from home. She decided to offer daycare for children with disabilities because that’s what she had experience doing. Cubby and her husband Dan came to name their ministry St. Joseph’s House and raised their own kids there, including Joe, who now runs St. Joseph’s House with his wife Natalie.
During a “Christopher Closeup” interview, Joe explained, “When you’re a child growing up in this environment, you adapt to what is around you…I was given so many gifts from the kids, in terms of being able to understand how we are all created in the image and likeness of God, no matter what we look like, what we sound like, if we can walk, if we can’t walk, how we eat, if we’re fed through a tube, or if we’re able to use our hands. Just being able to experience the beautiful diversity of the human person was such a gift to me as a child. And now that Natalie and I’s children get to experience that as well, it’s just incredible.”
Natalie didn’t get to know Joe until 10 years ago, but she had already developed her own passion for helping vulnerable human beings through volunteer work in the U.S. and Thailand. She said, “That instilled in me the importance of being able to be a compassionate presence for anyone in the world. The deepest desire of the human heart is to know that we’re not alone, that we’re loved by God and those around us, and to know that we have someone to accompany us.”
Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
When Natalie met Joe, he was the first person whose values and experiences reflected her own, so they immediately connected. Joe recalled, “We were engaged, and my mom had just died at age 58 after a years-long battle with ovarian and breast cancer. We knew how important this work was to all the families we serve, but we also knew that there were going to be many more families in the years to come and…they can live very isolated lives. We decided that we wanted to [run St. Joseph’s House] for our family, for their families, and to make it part of our greater community, which we have tried to do here in Hyattsville, Maryland.”
The “kids” at St. Joseph’s House range in age from five to 21, and the community they have found there is making a profound difference. Natalie said, “Many are with us, and with each other, for years of their childhood and adolescence. To see a nonverbal autistic child walk into our home and light up with a smile and know…where their friends are…where they know they’re known and loved and…they can come and be themselves, is beautiful to be a part of.”
Joe hopes that through their efforts at St. Joseph’s House—and through interviews like this—society will be more embracing of families dealing with disabilities. He concluded, “[Don’t] be afraid, if you see someone with a disability at the playground or at school, to treat them like a normal child and befriend them, or talk to their parents because it can be very isolating. I feel like that’s our mission at St. Joseph’s House: to help get kids and families out in the world so there can be encounters and real relationships made. We hope that’s what we do in our community, and we hope that that can happen in other communities as well.”
Tony Rossi is director of communications for The Christophers. For free copies of the Christopher News Note We Belong To Each Other, write: The Christophers, 264 West 40th St., Room 603, New York, N.Y. 10018; or e-mail: mail@christophers.org