Hastings Church Looks for Mental Health Lessee

HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. –The Grace Episcopal Church in Hastings will continue to provide more than just religious services as it looks to lease part of its premises to a mental health clinic as it has done for years. 

“We have for many, many years leased space to a satellite program of Phelps Memorial Hospital called Echo Hills,” said Rev. Anna Pearson, rector of the Grace Church.  “And because of what’s going on and just general economic hard times they’ve had to consolidate their program so they are not re-upping their lease, but there is another organization that is basically similar and is interested in maybe taking over.”

The clinic will continue to be part of the parish hall with office space and a reception area, which Pearson described as “nothing fancy.”

“It’s been a counseling center, it’s been a mental health clinic, they’ve had individual clients and then also groups,” she said.  “They’ve employed mental health workers, psychiatric social workers and psychiatrists so they provide different services depending on the needs of the clients,” she said.

While Pearson said a new tenant will most likely move in, it is still up in the air as to who it will be or when the tenant would move in.

“We really just want to make sure that we’re doing the right thing by the village and that we’re cooperating fully with everything they’d like us to do before we move forward,” she said.

Reaching out to the community and offering services, even programs like this that aren’t directly run by the church, is something Pearson said is central to the church’s message.

“One of the things we enjoyed about the partnerships is that what they do fits in with the mission of what we try to do,” she said.  “As a church we open our doors to people of all kinds, from all walks of life.  The church is certainly a place of celebration, but it’s also a place where the doors should be open if people are struggling so it’s been a nice fit in that way and so we hope to continue that as we move on with future tenants.”

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