Milestones

Over the decades, we have expanded our services to best meet the needs of the individuals and families that we serve.

1947 Albany Child Guidance Center, later to become ClearView Center, is founded.
1969 The grass-roots organization that later became Equinox is founded.
1969 The first community Thanksgiving dinner is organized to serve 200 students stranded by a snowstorm. (Today, that event serves more than 10,000 people.)
1970s Mental health services are expanded, and residential programs are added to meet the needs of the many patients released from state hospitals, sometimes without treatment or even a home. 
1976 Equinox House for Youth Opens providing emergency shelter for youth.
1980s Residential facilities, ranging from group care settings to supervised independent apartments are opened.
1980s Social Clubs are added to help mental health clients meet friends, establish networks of support, develop job skills, and re-enter the workforce. 
1980s An outpatient day treatment program and mental health clinic are established.
1984 Domestic violence counseling and advocacy begins.
1986 GreatFinds, a women’s thrift boutique, opens offering mental health clients an opportunity to learn job skills and gain confidence. 
1989 Domestic violence shelter opens – the 30-bed residence remains the only one of its kind in Albany County.
1992 The Family Resources program is launched to offer families of mental health clients supportive counseling, education sessions, support groups, and a 24-hour emergency hotline.
1994 Equinox Youth Outreach Center opens.
2000 Equinox House for Youth moves to its Ferry Street location.
2007 The InSights program is created to give mental health support to area college students.
2008 Elder Abuse Services Project is launched.
2009 Equinox and ClearView Center are among the founding members of the Hudson River United Services (HRUS) group, a multi-county consortium of human services agencies.
2011 Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) program is introduced to mental health clients.
2012 Equinox and ClearView Center merge.
2014 25th Anniversary of Equinox's Domestic Violence Shelter.
2015 Equinox's Counseling Center for Chemical Dependency began accepting walk-ins for assessments five days a week.
2015 Equinox's Youth Outreach Center receives a $1.5 million, five-year federal grant to add an array of new programs aimed at substance abuse and HIV/Hepatitis B prevention and intervention.
2016 Equinox Counseling Center for Substance Abuse moves to agency's 500 Central Avenue facility to be co-located with its Mental Health Services–providing Behavioral Health Services under one roof for clients with co-occuring disorders.
2017 Equinox sells its aging building at 95 Central Avenue after careful consideration of clients' needs and agency's long-term financial health. Most services offered at 95 Central moves to a new space at 102 Hackett Blvd., which offers efficient space and better parking. The Youth Outreach Center remains at 95 Central, which is central to the neighborhood where our youth live.
2018 John Henley named transitional CEO.
2019 Equinox–and the Capital Region–celebrate 50 years of the Equinox Thanksgiving Community Dinner by preparing and delivering more than 10,200 meals.
2019 Equinox Welcomes Ginger Golden as our new CEO.