Photo by Joselyn King A ribbon cutting for two new cottage-style homes being built by Crittenton Services took place Wednesday near the organization’s main building in Elm Grove. Pictured from left are Mark Ackermann, Linell Mankey, Todd Iams, Amy Smith, Shaye Potter, Jennifer Spencer, Ned Matyskiela, Carla Bronder and Tracee Chambers.

WHEELING – Crittenton Services in Wheeling is building room to house more pregnant teens and young women with babies.

On Wednesday, ground was broken for the construction of two cottage-style homes near Crittenton’s main office in Elm Grove. The first sits on Wade Avenue above Crittenton’s main building, while the second will be nearby on Empowerment Lane behind Crittenton’s main building.

“Each is an eight-bedroom-style home to facilitate single parenting and single homes,” explained Amy Baccelliere, CFO for Crittenton, who helped guide the project.

She explained construction is expected to cost about $3.8 million, and that the first $3,042,000 needed was secured by the office of U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia.

Crittenton also has received funding from both the August J. and Thelma S. Hoffman Foundation, and the Albert Schenk II and Kathleen H. Schenk Charitable Trust to help finance the project, Baccelliere reported.

Fundraising is continuing, and Crittenton is still accepting donations for the cottage homes, she continued.

“It will help us greatly to make sure we cover the difference in the funds,” Baccelliere said.

Construction is expected to take about a year, and a ribbon cutting is expected in the spring of 2027, according to Baccelliere.

Jennifer Spencer, president and CEO of Crittenton, spoke to the crowd and told the story behind the project.

“At Crittenton, we have been serving some of the most vulnerable young women in West Virginia for more than a century, but times have certainly changed,” Spencer explained. “In the past 131 years, one thing that has never faltered is Crittenton’s desire to provide a loving and safe environment where young ladies can come to heal, and ultimately return to their communities with new tools, skills and perspectives.”

These strengths when acquired help to strengthen families, she continued.

In December 2022, Crittenton lost its Sigma House due to a weather catastrophe, Spencer explained. That reduced the number of beds available at Crittenton House.

But the tragedy also created an opportunity for Crittenton to build something to address the organization’s needs for the future, she said.

“This project is the realization of that dream,” Spencer added.

She noted the main housing facility used by Crittenton was constructed in the 1960s and has allowed Crittenton to care for “thousands of young women with young children” over the years.

“However, during those years we have learned a lot about behavioral and emotional challenges – especially those attributed to childhood trauma and how to care for young people who have had those experiences,” Spencer said. “These new homes will allow us to put that knowledge into practice.”

Shaye Potter, a field representative for Capito, presented remarks from Capito prior to the ribbon cutting.

“Although I couldn’t be there today, I am thrilled to have played a role in making this project a reality,” Capito said through Potter. “Crittenton’s residential program is West Virginia’s only licensed provider for pregnant and parenting girls with babies. Their work to provide trauma informed and behavioral health services to women, children and families is admirable, and something desperately needed in the state.”