Letter from the Executive Director

A safe haven that fosters hope! Wow, what a mission statement and most importantly, what a responsibility. At Genesis Youth Crisis Center, Inc. we welcome children into our facilities from all walks of life. Each child is different, but all of them have problems they are currently dealing with in their lives. We want them to quickly get the feeling that they are in a safe place, and that together we can begin to work on issues that have caused them extreme difficulty. Each child is given special attention from the time they arrive until long after they leave. The hope is that what they learn while with us stays with them no matter where they go.

In the ten plus years that I have been employed by Genesis Youth Crisis Center, Inc. many kids have come through our program and have become success stories. Past residents that are now current employees have come back to Genesis because they believe in our mission and want to help other children that may be experiencing the same problems. When a child is discharged from one of our facilities, I often hear them state that they want to come back and work here. What a compliment! That child not only received help they so desperately needed but they believe in what we are doing and want to be a part of helping others.

Over the course of twenty-six years, our success has grown along with our capacity to serve kids, from a six bed facility to two facilities and twenty beds. At Genesis, we want to continue to find ways to expand our services so that every child in the State of West Virginia can have a safe place to come to. In the past two years alone, Genesis has served nearly 500 children from all parts of the state. In building our new facility, it is our hope that no child will ever be turned away for lack of room.

Thank you. Those two little words can mean so much. Hearing a child say “thank you” is what drives all of our employees to continue our great mission of “Providing a safe haven for children that fosters hope”. Rewards are recognized by different people in different ways. My greatest reward is seeing a child given a new chance at life because of something they learned while at one of our facilities.

Matt Rudder
Executive Director