Walpole woman's dream for disabled, their families comes true

Walpole resident Paula Kavolius had a dream day last week in more ways than one.

On Thursday, she broke ground for the House of Possibilities, planned to be a center for disabled children on the campus of Stonehill College in Easton. On that day, her 12-year-old son, who is developmentally impaired, surprised her by stringing two words into a sentence for the first time in his life.

"Mommy happy," Timmy Kavolius said to her.

Paula Kavolius said her son's words show he understood the importance of what was happening that day. She said he normally speaks through sign language and by using a machine. He rarely speaks at all, and when he does, it is a single word.

"That was unbelievable," said Kavolius, who lives in Walpole with her husband and three children. "I think, in his own way, he knows."

When Timmy was born, doctors said he would never be able to speak or walk. He now does both.

As Timmy was growing up, Kavolius was unable to find a facility for the disabled where she was comfortable leaving her son so she could attend to other matters. Kavolius formed a group consisting of parents of the disabled and advocate-volunteers, and they launched a fund-raising effort five years ago to create what was to become the House of Possibilities.

They gathered contributions from area people and organizations and contacted colleges looking for a home for their vision, a center for activities and classes where parents in need of respite could bring their disabled children.

Lauren Hamilton, a Walpole resident who is director of development for the House of Possibilities, said Timmy Kavolius is the "inspiration" behind the new facility.

Shortly after starting the grassroots fundraising campaign in Walpole center, Kavolius discovered there were even more families than she had imagined in need of a facility to care for their disabled kids.

"We just found it was a crucially needed service that was not being met," she said. "We were fixing the potholes and not the road."

Kavolius and Hamilton set out to fix the road by looking for a site to build a state-of-the art building for disabled kids.

They reached out to Stonehill College in 2005, encouraged by its stated mission to "educate the whole person, mind and heart."

Stonehill made available for purchase two acres on the outskirts of the campus for the two-story, 11,000-square-foot building, which should open next spring.

The home will be the first respite facility in the nation built on a college campus.

Asked how she felt knowing that her dream was coming true, Kavolius said she was "ecstatic, beyond ecstatic."

Once construction is finished, she added, "the real work needs to be done," that is, improving the lives of disabled children and their parents.

The facility will allow disabled children to participate in activities, socialize and receive care while their parents run errands and take care of other matters.

Stonehill officials have also told Hamilton that the children will have access to the whole college - they will be able to use the basketball courts, attend a football game, or anything else.

A program is also being set up, according to Hamilton, under which freshman in the education field will be involved in individual mentoring.

"It will be a house of dreams," Hamilton said.

The facility will initially be for afternoon and weekend respite, she said. Eventually, those hours will be expanded.

Hamilton said the facility will serve any child who is in need, regardless of financial situation. The House of Possibilities will charge fees in order to cover costs, Hamilton said.

"We hope to become a national model," said Hamilton.

The House of Possibilities is holding a fundraising event at Fenway Park in September. More information is available at houseofpossibilities.org.

Kavolius said she is "looking forward to the challenges."