We were lucky to catch up with Crystal Stevens recently and have shared our conversation below.
Crystal, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
GenaShaes House was born from my own journey as a young mother raising four children while trying to build stability with almost no support. I lived the chaos, the fear, the stretching, the late-night tears — all while trying to hold my kids and myself together. And as I watched countless other mothers in Hampton Roads face the same battles of financial strain, limited resources, mental-health challenges, and emotional isolation, something in me refused to let their stories fade into the background. I realized the gap wasn’t just in housing or diapers; the real gap was holistic care. Mothers needed a place where their entire life — emotional, financial, educational, and practical — could be rebuilt with dignity, wisdom, and community. What started as survival became a calling: create the support system I once needed, for the women who need it today.
I knew GenaShaes House would work because the need is undeniable and the logic is simple: when you strengthen a mother, you stabilize an entire family. Our model fills a void that most programs overlook — offering housing resources, financial literacy, career development, mental-health support, life-skills training, and true community all in one place. We aren’t just helping women get through the moment; we’re helping them rise, build stability, and rewrite their future with confidence. The part that excites me most is watching a mom come in overwhelmed and leave grounded — supported, skilled, and ready to step into a new chapter for herself and her children. GenaShaes House is more than a program; it’s a lifeline, a reset, and a place where mothers finally get to breathe, rebuild, and become.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m Crystal Stevens, the Founder and Executive Director of GenaShaes House, a nonprofit created to support pregnant mothers and mothers with children up to 24 months through holistic programs, community care, and future transitional housing. My path into this work comes directly from my lived experience — I became a mother young and raised four children while navigating unstable housing, financial pressure, and the emotional weight that so many moms carry silently. I know firsthand what it feels like to have dreams, potential, and determination, but lack the support, tools, and stability to move forward. Those personal battles shaped my heart for this work and revealed the deep gaps that mothers across Hampton Roads are still falling through today. GenaShaes House was born from that reality — not as an idea on paper, but as a life assignment to create a safe, structured, dignity-filled place for mothers who need more than handouts; they need a pathway.
At GenaShaes House, we provide programs that strengthen the whole woman: life-skills training, parenting support, financial literacy, career development, mental-health resources, community belonging, and housing navigation services. What sets us apart is our belief that real transformation happens when you support the mother’s entire life, not just one piece of it. We’re not interested in quick fixes; we’re focused on long-term stability and generational change. We pride ourselves on being modern, approachable, culturally relevant, and led by lived experience — not detached theory. I’m proud that GenaShaes House has become a space where mothers feel seen, supported, and equipped to rebuild their lives with confidence.
What I want people to know about GenaShaes House is simple: we are here to lift the woman who is carrying the weight of her home. When you strengthen a mother, everything connected to her gets stronger — her children, her finances, her mental health, her future. Our work is about restoring hope, providing practical skills, and building a community where no mother has to navigate the hardest seasons of life alone. GenaShaes House exists to help women rise — and we’re committed to walking with them every step of the way.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
One of the clearest examples of my resilience is how I rebuilt my life after the challenges I faced growing up. I experienced childhood molestation, and even though my home wasn’t unsafe overall, that trauma shaped me in ways I had to learn to heal from. As I got older and eventually left home, I stepped into poverty — not because I was irresponsible, but because I had no real support system, no guidance, and limited education. I was a young mother raising four children, trying to learn how to survive and grow at the same time. It was a season that demanded strength I didn’t even know I had yet.
Even with everything stacked against me — trauma, poverty, limited education, and the weight of single motherhood — I chose to keep going. I chose healing. I chose growth. And eventually, I met a man who started as my boyfriend and became my husband — someone who supported me and my children when I had spent so much of my life carrying it all alone. His support helped stabilize my life, but the resilience was already built from years of pushing through what tried to hold me back.
That resilience is the backbone of GenaShaes House. I know what it feels like to rebuild your life from scratch, to parent through pressure, and to rise from pain without a roadmap. I want mothers to know that their past doesn’t diminish them — it develops them. If I could come through trauma, poverty, and instability and build something that now strengthens other mothers, then they can rise too.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
At GenaShaes House, we keep in touch with our moms and partners through consistent, intentional connection. Our work isn’t transactional — it’s relational. We maintain ongoing communication through text updates, email check-ins, follow-up calls, monthly newsletters, and community events that give moms a safe space to reconnect. We also create touchpoints that feel personal: birthday acknowledgments, encouragement messages, follow-ups after workshops, and check-ins to see how their goals are progressing. We don’t wait for a crisis to reach out; we stay engaged even when things are going well because we want every mom to know she is seen and supported beyond a single program.
Brand loyalty for us comes from trust. The women we serve know that we show up with consistency, dignity, and real care — not judgment or pressure. We communicate clearly, deliver what we promise, and listen to their feedback so our programs stay relevant to their real lives. We build loyalty by creating a genuine community where mothers feel valued, respected, and uplifted. When a mom feels safe with us, she tells another mom. When a partner sees our integrity, they return. Our goal is simple: maintain relationships rooted in hope, honesty, and long-term support. That’s what keeps people connected to GenaShaes House.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.genashaeshouseva.org
- Instagram: genashaeshouse
- Facebook: GenaShaesHouse
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crystal-stevens-executiveadministrator?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3B7C8jp6MzQnK%2F3RjzkTeKiQ%3D%3D
Image Credits
Shawn Stevens and Nicole Morris