[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18498]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF JILL'S HOUSE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. BARBARA COMSTOCK

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 18, 2015

  Mrs. COMSTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 5th Anniversary 
of a truly great institution in Virginia's 10th Congressional District, 
Jill's House.
  Jill's House is a home away from home for children with a variety of 
disabilities. It gives the hard-working and caring parents of children 
with disabilities an overnight respite in order to provide parents the 
time to focus on their marriage and family, rest, and get ahead on work 
and refresh their lives. Their children spend the night at Jill's 
House, where they have highly trained staff to provide care.
  Lon and Brenda Solomon were two caring parents who had three children 
and were living a normal life. Brenda then became pregnant with their 
fourth child, Jill, the daughter they had always wanted. When Jill was 
just three months old, she began to have seizures. As the seizures grew 
more and more frequent and severe, Lon and Brenda were becoming 
overwhelmed. At their wit's end, they received what appeared to be a 
sign from God, a call from a woman named Mary. This woman, whom the 
Solomon's had never met, organized caregivers for Jill in order to 
allow Lon and Brenda time to rest and renew themselves. They were able 
to catch up on sleep, spend quality time with their other children, and 
improve the quality of care Jill received. From this respite grew the 
idea for Jill's House, a special residential facility where parents of 
children with special needs can bring their children to stay in a safe 
and secure environment with professional care.
  Jill's House currently serves over 500 families raising children with 
disabilities. Their facility offers a range of activities for the 
children including having an on-site moon bounce, a handicapped 
accessible playground, and a handicapped accessible pool. I have been 
privileged to work with Jill's House since they opened in 2010 and they 
have enriched our community and given peace of mind to many parents. 
This year marks the 5th year Jill's House has been open to help those 
who need it and I hope there will be many more anniversaries 
celebrating this blessed place.

                          ____________________