Dec. 13, 2023 — Family Crisis Support Services (FCSS), serving Southwest Virginia for over 40 years, has unveiled a new $4.2 million resource center in Wise County to better support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness, and other crises.

The six-building campus, built on reclaimed coal mine land, includes a 4,000-square-foot facility for staff and services, as well as housing for up to 76 individuals in need. The project emerged after the organization’s former building was deemed structurally unsafe, and rising demand—driven partly by the pandemic—highlighted the need for expansion. Since 2019, the agency has seen a 76% rise in domestic violence and sexual assault cases and a 54% increase in homelessness cases.

Under Executive Director Marybeth Adkins, the agency has grown its budget from $379,000 to over $6 million, with funding and support from local and state organizations, as well as the University of Richmond and the Secular Society.

The new center aims to provide comprehensive services in one location and will be followed by a second phase, including a large supply warehouse that will house a commercial laundry, a food pantry with cooking space, a storage area for items like mattresses, and a separate building for child care.

Adkins, committed to a generational approach to helping families, sees the new campus as a way to offer stability and healing for those in crisis while addressing the root causes of recurring issues.

Learn more: CardinalNews.org