Ensuring a Legacy Of Caring In The Coalfields

LOGAN, WV (LOOTPRESS) – It is widely known as one of, if not the, nicest and well-kept buildings in downtown Logan.

Inside the walls of its warmly appointed offices, playrooms packed with toys and puppets, and in the “Upper Room” conference facility and wildly decorated party room, healing happens. The unassuming brick building straddling Stratton and Main Streets, just one block down from the Logan County Courthouse has helped heal thousands of young lives that have been upended by abuse, neglect, and abandonment.

Beth , an award-winning licensed child and adolescent psychotherapist, and Bob, the state’s leading adoption attorney found themselves in their offices less and less.

Beth was often in court as an expert witness testifying on behalf of children in crisis, teaching therapists, social workers, and counselors how to connect with their young clients or zigzagging across the coalfields in Ivy, her one-of-a-kind mobile therapy bus, taking trauma help into the hills and hollers directly to children and teens who might never be able to get help otherwise. Ivy was named for a disabled camper Beth roomed with as a child during a teen sleepaway camp, beginning a lifetime of service to those less fortunate.

Bob, always a road warrior, was crisscrossing West Virginia doing adoptions in most of the 55 counties in the state, as well as in Alabama. With the advent of cloud-based technology, Bob, his office manager Gayle Lansden, and co-counsel Scott Briscoe communicated remotely, hearings often happened via video conference, and found it was much easier for their adopting parents and young clients to meet them in their local Tudor’s Biscuit World for coffee and conversation.

Those logistics, plus the pull of grandkids in Alabama, meant that the Logan building just wasn’t being utilized as in years past. “Months would pass before we would be there; we knew we needed to put it in the hands of someone who would maximize its use and really make a difference in the community,” said Bob.

That’s why this Tuesday, April 30th (the final day of Child Abuse Prevention Month), the longtime offices of Beth and Bob Noone will be given, free and clear, to ChildLaw Services , West Virginia’s only non-profit law firm that exclusively represents children. The building will be renamed The Beth and Bob Noone Center for Children and Teens. Now, that honored legacy of mending broken hearts and fiercely fighting for children’s rights will continue for generations to come.

“ChildLaw has big plans for the Logan facility,” says Executive Director Cathy Wallace. “Beth and Bob have been advocating for and empowering children throughout their careers. Their long-term dream is to have a center for children to be a safe place for advocacy and healing, a warm, welcoming space… and that’s our dream too. This facility in Logan will continue to be a safe space for children throughout the state, providing the very best therapy and legal services, free to our young clients. Logan and other areas of the coalfields need these services so much.”

Wallace says that along with legal and therapy, ChildLaw plans to have a safe space for fun after school and weekend activities for teens, yoga, mindful training, music and light therapy, martial arts, and more.

“The building has so many possibilities, and we can maximize its usefulness. We know how to do this. I’m really proud that starting practically from scratch in Mercer County, ChildLaw is now the largest firm in Mercer and McDowell Counties, and we’re a non-profit that just serves children and teens. We already have a qualified attorney who is interested in supervisory services in Logan. The facility will provide services for the whole community.”

The official ribbon-cutting ceremony for ChildLaw Services will be held on Saturday, June 15th. Along with services for children and teens, the center will provide training for Guardian ad items, social workers, therapists, attorneys, and other mental health providers who specifically treat children and teens and their parents.

“ChildLaw has grown to five offices including our home base in Princeton, Morgantown, Martinsburg, Charleston, and now Logan. We are focused on building stronger and more resilient adults and giving a safe haven to children. We are honored that the Noones, who have spent their careers helping children, put their faith in our ability to carry on their legacy” said, Ron Martin, ChildLaw Board President.

“ChildLaw has been an inspiration to me for decades,” said Bob. “But Beth is the one who recommended them to use the building moving forward, and she was so right. Beth has spent years of her career working with children of trauma and is one of the country’s leading authorities on play therapy, and her work goes hand-in-hand with ChildLaw. We’re giving the property to a group that will advocate our causes. It’s a great way to carry on our work for generations to come.

Bob said decades ago to the founder of ChildLaw, Mary Ellen Griffith, “I want to be like you when I grow up.” Now to give the building to the organization I idolized is an amazing full-circle moment. ChildLaw has a “Take no prisoners” mentality when it comes to representing kids. That is so important for children who are routinely voiceless in many courtrooms.

ChildLaw is actively working on securing additional grants for additional child advocacy work.

“We always say the way to make a difference is to do small things in a big, caring way. That’s what ChildLaw does too. We’re honored to hand them the keys,” says Beth. “We’re excited to bring them to Logan.”