In service of others: Virginia’s House provides necessary community services

The mission of Virginia’s House and Dr. Goodall’s House to meet the needs of the abused, neglected and traumatized through prevention and advocacy continues to make the organization a crucial part of area communities.

Virginia House Executive Director Kaci McKinzie spoke recently with the Rotary Club of Graham about the programs offered from the organization and how they have been able to support the communities they serve.

“Our vision at Virginia's House truly is to create a community where every child is safe and heard and, most importantly, believed. That is a really important component of the work that we do is, regardless of the situation, always believing the child first and then working through the process with the team to better understand and determine what the child has experienced,” McKinzie said.

Virginia’s House, located in Young County, and Dr. Goodall’s House, located in Stephens County, serve their communities as umbrella organizations. The organizations provide the children’s advocacy center, North Star CASA and mentor program.

“(We focus on) educating the community about what to look for, how they can get involved and what support looks like, and then being available through our child advocacy center and our CASA programs to support those families that are going through these challenging situations,” McKinzie said.

If a child makes an outcry, the organization hears their story and who is involved. The child is brought to Virginia’s House through a referral from Child Protective Services (CPS) or law enforcement and all of the parties involved with the case collaborate in an observation room.

“We have a trained forensic interviewer that sits down with the child to talk to them about their story and that child only has to relive their story one time with a trained facilitator and all parties are able to hear the story to get the information that they need and be able to help that child and their family facilitate what the next steps look like,” McKinzie said.

Those next steps could be counseling resources and support provided to families or children. If a child is removed from a home and placed in foster care they are provided a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for their case.

“The neat thing about being a CASA advocate is that you are typically that child's only point of contact that does not change from the day they enter foster care until the day that they are placed in their forever situation. Whether that is reunited with their families, or whether that is placed into an adoptive home, the CASA advocate is the point of contact and the advocate for that child,” McKinzie said.

The organization currently has 16 CASA volunteers that are paired with families. They set a goal of adding six additional volunteers in 2026.

“We are currently setting a goal to meet our current caseload where every child has an advocate,” McKinzie said. “What happens if they do not have a volunteer advocate is that (our CASA supervisor) takes on those cases that do not have a volunteer advocate.”

The mentor program is included within all school districts of Young County and Stephens County supporting students in elementary, junior high and high school. A mentor is paired with a mentee student to provide them support.

“We are always looking for additional mentors. ...Male mentors are an area that we are always lacking and needing additional advocates and mentors in that area,” McKinzie said. “Whether your specialty is at-risk teenagers in high school... or junior high or elementary is your calling, our mentor program is our largest prevention and education program that we have.”

The organization also has a program for junior high and high school students about teen dating violence, body safety and understanding what is safe and what is not and when to speak with an adult.

Additionally, the organization participates in Trunk or Treat and National Night Out events that are held in Young and Stephens counties. They also provide toys for families that they serve, with 40 families with open cases through the CAC and CASA program.

“We open a Christmas shop and we convert the mentor house behind Virginia's House into a toy store, and through generous donations from individuals, as well as a partnership through Toys for Tots, we are able to set up a shopping experience for our families.”

Young County Masonic Lodge cooked 164 turkeys from Sunday, Dec. 21 through the morning of Monday, Dec. 22 to donate to families in need. Of the 164 turkeys smoked by the organization, 50 were provided to families served by Virginia’s House.

“We were able to not only provide to our active families that were in need, but we were also able to reach out into our networks and provide Christmas dinners for other families within the community that were in need,” McKinzie said.

Nine organizations in total helped support the family food baskets that were created for families in need and supplied by Virginia’s House.

The organization will be looking for support this year assisting with a holiday stocking that will have necessities and fun items for teenagers in need in the community. A church and youth group will be helping the organization with a similar campaign for Easter baskets to provide for families during that season.

McKinzie said the organization would not be able to keep its doors open if not for the generous volunteers and support they receive. The organization is seeking additional volunteers and support from the community.

“We are always looking for CASA advocates and mentors to volunteer your time to be a part of our programs, in kind donations to help with those programs and initiatives, whether that is donating items or donating time... and last but certainly not least, monetary donations always support the initiatives that we have at Virginia's House,” she said.

For more information, call Virginia's House at 940-549-9829, or visit their website.