WHEELING — Youth Services System Inc. celebrates its 50th anniversary with the community from 5-10 p.m. April 27 at Stratford Springs.

YSS is gearing up for a big celebration of 50 years of success and service.

YSS founder Ronald C. Mulholland, along with a group of like-minded community members, had the vision to create something that would change youth’s lives and the generations of youth to come. YSS was founded and incorporated on May 2, 1974, originally called Ohio County Youth Services System.

Within its first year, YSS opened the first West Virginia emergency shelter for boys, the Samaritan House. Several years later, YSS started the first licensed Transitional Living Program for older youth/young adults in 1981. In 1983, the first emergency shelter for girls in West Virginia, Helsinki Shelter, opened. Then in 1986, the first juvenile detention center in West Virginia was opened by YSS, what is now known as the Ronald C. Mulholland Juvenile Center.

Mulholland was honored in 2009 as YSS’ Good Samaritan, and during his speech he said, “The one absolute, the one moral imperative is that we must respond! We must say yes … yes … and yes again. Children cannot survive our failed efforts. Children can no longer be seen as a constituency worthy of only occasional concern.”

Samaritan House initially offered an alternative to youth incarceration. Many community members took the time to advocate for the funding of the program. In a letter to the Wheeling City Council, the Rev. Gary R. Beale wrote, “Jail is no place for children.”

Beale continued, “No provisions are made for recreation, education, training or any type of rehabilitation.”

Included in his letter was a call for support when he stated, “It is incumbent upon this community to provide adequate service and facilities for its youth.”

The initial funding for Samaritan House came from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and hot food was donated by the 18th Street Center. Public support from the League of Women Voters, Junior League of Wheeling and faith-based organizations gave Samaritan House credibility. After a few years of community support, public funding through the Department of Health and Human Resources began.

Ron Klug, one of the six people to sign the incorporation papers in 1974, has been an active part of the agency since day one. Klug was working as a case manager for the DHHR at the time of incorporation, in what was called the Youth Services Unit. Klug was a strong advocate for youth and helped Mulholland create the agency. Klug spent 45 years on the Board of Directors and is now an active emeritus board member.

“We needed other alternatives (to youth in jail),” Klug said. “We thought shelters were

the first things needed to be developed for kids.”

During this time, Klug met Mulholland and they began to make plans for what would be known as Youth Services System Inc.

Sue Abraham, another of the six who signed the incorporation papers, says, “I don’t think any of us thought (YSS) would be what it is today. It was a dream of ours in the beginning to get to where we are today.”

Now, YSS occupies two youth shelters, two transitional living sites, a juvenile facility, three recovery homes, and a main office where clients and community have access to an array of community-based services such as: prevention services, assessment/evaluations, therapy, supervised visitation/parenting education, youth mentoring, school-based mental health services and a youth employment program. YSS serves six counties in West Virginia (Ohio, Marshall, Brooke, Hancock, Tyler and Wetzel) and accepts youth from all 55 counties. YSS also operates over 25 programs for youth and families.

The event will include a gourmet dinner buffet, dinner music by Roger Hoard followed by dancing to Eli and the Mojo Kings, with former board member Geoff Brown as event emcee.

Basket tickets and silent auction items will also be available for purchase during the event. Tickets can be purchased online.

For more information about the event, contact Special Events Coordinator Holly Fox at hfox1@ysswv.com or 304-233-9627, ext. 109.