BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
WILLIAMSON — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice was in Mingo County Saturday for the grand opening of the WellSpring Pregnancy and Family Resource Center. The new facility is located in the old bathhouse of the former Williamson municipal swimming pool in West Williamson.
A good crowd turned out under blue and sunny autumn skies for the ceremony and ribbon-cutting held adjacent to the building. The opening event was followed by tours of the remodeled building and a reception with refreshments.
The nonprofit pregnancy center, which will feature pregnancy testing, early OB ultrasounds, health information, parenting education, post-abortion care and counseling, is located at 98 Parkway Drive, Williamson, in the ground level of the Kiwanis Community Center in West End of Williamson.
“We are so excited to bring this much-needed resource to our community,” said Cody Justice, executive director. “Our services will help equip families with the right tools to be successful and overcome the obstacles of pregnancy. We believe this family services center will be a ‘wellspring’ of life and hope to our community.”
WellSpring Pregnancy and Family Resource will provide free services to the community. Those include ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, parenting education classes, peer counseling, job readiness skills, community referrals, post-Abortion counseling, bereavement counseling and spiritual support.
“I am immensely proud of all the great work you have done,” Justice said in his speech.
The Republican governor presented a $25,000 check from the state’s contingency fund to help purchase ultrasound equipment for WellSpring.
“I want to congratulate you on the opening of this center,” Justice added as he presented the check. “God bless everything you do.”
The center’s programs will be built on an “earn while you learn” program where participants can earn “baby bucks” that can be used in the baby boutique. The baby boutique will be supplied mainly from community donations of baby clothing, diapers, bottles, cribs, car seats, formula, wipes, shoes, blankets, bibs and other items.
The governor brought his sidekick BabyDog, who travels with him around the state. The dog was a popular part of the event, and several took pictures with the governor and BabyDog.
The grand opening ceremonies included an open house tour of the facility, where people met the staff and saw the center.
Others who attended or participated in the ceremony were State Senator Mark Maynard, House of Delegate member Mark Dean, Jarrod Dean of the Williamson Parks and several others.