It was appropriate that the official opening of McGuigan House took place January 22 in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

McGuigan House is a group home for intellectually challenged adults, operated by Clare Parker Homes a United Church based group and named after Sister Marian McGuigan RNDM.  Sister McGuigan in 1969 recognized that the needs of children with various disabilities were not being met said Sister Winnifred Brown who gave a brief history of Sister McGuigan at the official opening. McGuigan, with the help of the RNDM community, established a special class for them on the fourth floor of the former Sacred Heart College and in 1973 again recognizing a need Garrity Home for young intellectually challenged adults was established. The home was supported by Frank Garrity a former principal in the Regina Roman Catholic School system. Later, with the support of Regina businessman and philanthropist Don Kramer, Kramer House was established.

Sister McGuigan was a constant in all of the homes and was aided with members of her community who came from all over the world to work in the homes. However, declining numbers and age eventually caught up with them and they sought ways for their work to carry on. Enter Clare Parker Homes established by a group of United Church supporters and an organization called Regina Co-Management Committee.

This committee, funded by the Ministry of Social Services, represents groups and organizations that provide services for disadvantaged, physically or intellectually challenged people. It was through this committee that the connection was made for Clare Parker Homes to take over what the RNDMs were doing and that led to the establishment of McGuigan House, according to Cathy Currey, Board Chair of Clare Parker Homes.

Clare Parker Homes Inc. now operates four group homes in Regina. It is named in memory of Clare Parker, the first director of the Capital Cosmo Centre, a learning and activity centre for intellectually challenged adults, established and supported by the Capital Cosmopolitan Club.

Currey said the coming together of the two groups and finding the new home was something of a miracle. The group searched for more than three months and hadn’t found anything suitable. Their realtor then called them on the February holiday Monday about a house that became available after financing for another couple had fallen trough.“ As soon as we saw it we knew it was the right place.”

The house is located in North West Regina, adjacent to a park. It has four bedrooms, a finished basement, maintenance free backyard with a large and private deck and a two car garage. The provincial government provided about $250,000.00 for capital funding and another $306,000.00 for operations.