Virginia’s House celebrates 25 years of service

Since 1992, Virginia’s House has stood tall in Young County as a beacon for children and their families who suffer from all types of abuse.

On Saturday, June 24, their legacy will be 25 years old.

Virginia’s House is a non-profit family resource center located in Graham which accepts children and their families who suffer from abuse. Their reach extends beyond Young County and into Stephens and Throckmorton counties through their second center, Dr. Goodall’s House, located in Breckenridge.

For 25 years, the center has has offered services some of which include a Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program, children and young teen mentoring programs, victim advocacy programs, crime victim assistance programs and the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) for child abuse cases.

“We have spread the word throughout our communities that it is so important to tell if abuse is occurring,” Virginia’s House Executive Director Trish Remington said. “Then what we have accomplished once that child has come here and told us, is that their healing starts, and Virginia’s House for 25 years has provided healing to hurting children and their families.”

History

Virginia’s House was started by Cathy Crabtree in 1992 after an horrific child death in Young County shocked the community. In the past, law enforcement, Child Protective Services and the courts in the county did not share information with one another,  which led to complications in the case.

After the trial for the child’s death ended, then-District Attorney John Neal and others in the community began discussions on how to better serve children in the area. The organization Young County Family Resource Center was the answer to that problem and one of the first of its kind in the nation for a rural community.

Crabtree came aboard as the first executive director and served for more than six years before leaving to join the Texas Child Advocacy Center in Austin. She is now a consultant in Austin for the Midwest Regional Advocacy Center and was a former director of chapter development for the National Children’s Alliance.

In 2006, the organization changed its name to Virginia’s House after the continued support given to the organization by Virginia Street. A portrait of the Street hangs inside of Virginia’s House in Graham as a remembrance of her and her support.

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