North Star Child Advocacy Center Executive Director Greg Collins, left, and North Star Board of Directors President Janelle Seevers, second from left, along with board members and staff, cut the ribbon Friday outside the door of the center’s new administrative offices. The center, on Star Avenue outside Parkersburg, recently purchased additional space in the building to allow for expansion of services. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — The North Star Child Advocacy Center looked toward the future with an open house Friday to show off its newly expanded facility.

People from around the community, local leaders and law enforcement officials came to the North Star offices on Star Avenue to see where the advocacy center took over an additional 4,500 square feet that used to house a law firm in addition to its original 3,000 square feet.

“We have done a lot of work to get here,” North Star Executive Director Greg Collins said. “For the first time ever, we own the space we are in.

“We are doing away with any leasing that we have had in the past and putting that money towards our programming.”

North Star partners with Child Protective Services, law enforcement and prosecutors to provide forensic interviews and medical exams for child abuse investigations and advocates for children in Wood, Wirt, Pleasants, Ritchie and Calhoun counties.

North Star Child Advocacy Center held an open house Friday at its facility on Star Avenue to show the public the expansion creating more space to serve children who are victims of violence and help with law enforcement investigations. The 3,000-square-foot center has added an additional 4,500 square feet of space. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

“These are the worst cases, and we are the busiest of 21 centers in the state,” Collins said.

The center works with children ranging in age from a few months to 18 years old in situations like sexual abuse by family members or being prostituted by their own parents, Collins has said.

For a number of years the administrative offices, interview rooms, medical examination room, clothes closet, records storage and more were all in the original 3,000-square-room of space. The expansion allows the administrative offices, records storage, donation storage and more to be put in the new area, while opening space in their original center to expand and add new programs, including different interview rooms for younger and older children.

The money for the purchase of the center was obtained through grants and foundations, including a $720,000 Initial Opportunity Grant for Child Advocacy from the West Virginia First Foundation, a $35,000 contribution from the Sisters Health Foundation and almost $20,000 from the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation. The West Virginia First Foundation grant, which comes from opioid settlement money, was the largest the group awarded in its first round of funding.

“None of our donor money from the public has been used (in the purchase),” Collins said. “We wouldn’t be here without all of our funders and donors.

“We were happy to not have to attach our general funds to this, because the work done here is obviously the most important thing we do. We need to continue to interview these kids and help (Child Protective Services) and law enforcement.”

The center purchased the space from the PM Company in a “condominium agreement” where they own it, but the overall building is maintained by the company, cutting down on large scale repairs and maintenance work that could impact their funding, Collins said. It should allow for more sustainability of their operations in the years to come.

“This is a milestone and we have had a few milestones in our 11-year history that have been trajectory changers,” Collins said. “This is definitely one of the top two moments in North Star’s history that is going to make such a difference in what we are doing for these kids because we will be able to add services.”

Janelle Seevers, president of the North Star Board of Directors, said they are “very blessed” to be in the position they are and building on what Collins referred to as the “100-year strategic plan” for the center that will benefit the staff they have now and in the future. She credits the board, which is made up of people from around the community, with helping to get everything in place so they could move quickly on the purchase.

“I think this is setting us up for that continued success,” Seevers said.

She talked about the challenges the staff have on a regular basis, helping children and listening to what they have endured. They need to have spaces to decompress and deal with their emotions before having to do it all over again.

“This is a nice place where our staff can continue to do that work they are doing,” Seevers said. “This place is amazing, and we couldn’t be more grateful for it.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com.