ROCK HILL — Recurring rainfall and windy weather did not keep the community from coming out Saturday along Glen Wild Road to celebrate the groundbreaking of the upcoming EverGreen Meadow Wellness Center—an organization founded to provide wellness and mental health services to middle school-aged girls.

Situated at 265 Glen Wild Road, the future center will become the hub for EverGreen Meadow’s prevention, wellness and mental health programs. Expected to open in spring 2027, the center will offer empowerment programs, nature-based activities and therapy.

“This is the site where the EverGreen Meadow Wellness Center will stand,” affirmed EverGreen Meadow founder and President Stacy Millman at the event.

EverGreen currently partners with three Sullivan County schools—Liberty, Fallsburg and Monticello school districts—and is seeking expansion into Orange County and Kingston.

The organization also provides services like family support, free mental health therapy and skill-building empowerment groups, with families not having to worry about cost because, as Executive Director Adrienne Jensen put it:

“Every program and service is provided at zero costs to families,” she emphasized, keeping herself from tearing up in a touching moment. “It’s so important to not have that being a barrier.”

The future Wellness Center is just a small fraction of the greater plans EverGreen Meadow holds for the 34-acre lot, which is also expected to feature a residential treatment center and a specialized academy for girls in grades six through eight.

Notably, the planned residential treatment center will be a first statewide and will be completely funded through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and the New York State Department of Education, according to Millman.

Speaking of funding, a significant piece of that greater vision got a boost this year in state capital funding thanks to the cooperation of Assemblywoman Paula Kay.

Now representing New York’s 100th Assembly District, Kay’s work with EverGreen Meadow originated well before she was officially elected, keeping the organization under her wing during state budget negotiations.

“Last year, I was able to help secure the programmatic funding to continue, so EverGreen could continue their work with schools in Sullivan County,” Kay told the public. “[But] this year, we were able to secure $10 million in capital funding.”

She cited the larger mental health struggles that youth combat today as one of the several factors that reinforces the existence of EverGreen Meadow and the many services they plan to offer.

“This is the result of a dream mixed with a tremendous amount of hard work to turn that dream into the reality that we see here,” Kay summed up.

The project has also seen significant support from both the community and private sectors. For example, the Arizona-based Rowley Family Foundation gave the lead gift for the Wellness Center, while the 34 acres where the future campus will sit were donated by the Center for Discovery.

Nature will be a key component in the facility’s approach, as volunteers had already started clearing pathways and preparing the grounds. This was best evident through the recurring guided tours by Jensen that took place throughout the event, where attendees made a spiritual stop and were encouraged to walk a stretch of the trail in reflective silence.

Several trees acknowledging supporters were dedicated during the ceremony, including one for former Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, one for the Center for Discovery and one for the Rowley Family.

The ceremony wrapped with five representatives taking shovels to participate in the ceremonial dig: Assemblywoman Kay, New York State Budget Director Blake Washington, Marianne Murray representing the Rowley Family Foundation, Center for Discovery Executive Vice President Gabby Scott and Isabella, who represented EverGreen Meadow’s staff, volunteers and the girls served by the organization.