Our Journey Towards Belonging
My son, Asaf is 27 years old. Five years ago, we moved from Long Island, New York, to this community. something in me immediately recognized the potential. I felt that I had arrived at a place where I could contribute and help nurture something meaningful into reality.
What inspired me most was the community itself. Spread across more than 200 acres of land, it is a place where daily life is woven together through relationships, shared values, and a deep respect for the human being.
Within walking distance are the Threefold Café, where friends gather for coffee, tea, conversation, and meals; the Green Meadow Waldorf School, serving students from kindergarten through high school; the Otto Specht School for children with special needs; Threefold Community Farm; Endeavor21+, where many of our Evergreen Circle adults spend their days engaged in meaningful work and community life; and the Fellowship Community, where elders continue to live active and purposeful lives.
When we moved here, Asaf's grandmother moved to the Fellowship Community during the very same week so that she could continue to be part of our lives. Three generations of our family became connected to this place at the same time.
Life here is deeply influenced by the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, which places the human being at the center of community life.
I continue to be amazed that I can walk through the woods to reach nearly everything I need. Often, what should be a short walk takes much longer because I stop to talk with people along the way. These simple daily encounters create the fabric of the community.
Asaf loves to hike through the woods, work on the farm, and spend time at the café enjoying tea, meals, and conversations with friends. He looks forward to going to Endeavor21 each day, where he is part of a vibrant community of peers and mentors. There, he participates in baking, music, yoga, games, and many other activities that bring purpose, joy, and connection to his daily life.
His home is only a five-minute walk through the woods to Endeavor21, allowing him to walk between home and community. Most importantly, Asaf is happy here. He is surrounded by meaningful relationships, opportunities to contribute, and a community that knows and values him.
Finding Home
John was 17 when we first came to Chestnut Ridge. He attended the Otto Specht School and graduated in 2020. Endeavor 21 was a brand new program when John began taking classes, during his final year at OSS.
This community always felt like home. John was able to navigate the landscape. He knew almost everyone and everyone knew him. He was building on all the skills he had learned in OSS- farming, handwork, woodwork, weaving.
The people moved in and out of different parts of his life. His classmate at OSS became a com hab worker at E21, a class assistant from school became a teacher and administrator at Endeavor 21. A teacher from OSS taught classes at E21, as well.
For our family, Hungry Hollow Road became our home- where we lived, worked, socialized, ate dinners and lunches at the Cafe and looked forward to summer Pond Days. We took classes at the Fiber Craft Studio, walked with friends to the farm, enjoyed music on Friday nights at the Cafe. We went to performances at Threefold Auditorium, class plays at Green Meadow Waldorf School, sheep shearings and cow parades at the Threefold Community Farm. John worked at the Fellowship Community, folding laundry for the seniors who live there and setting tables for meals. He worked in Mercury Press, binding books. He played in the garden at Orchard House.
Life was Good.
We moved to Columbia County in 2021 to explore some options for John and I was able to work in 2 Camphill Communities for four years before retiring.
It has been 1 year, today, since we returned to Chestnut Ridge, to Endeavor 21, to Home. This community is where we want John to live his best life, surrounded by people who support him, work to challenge him,opportunities to learn and grow await him. His friends, his community and his future are here. He has found Home.
Jake's Story
We first learned about the Threefold Community in 2018 when our son, Jake, began attending the Otto Specht School (OSS). The middle school years had been difficult ones for the entire family. It was such a relief to find a place where Jake was not only accepted but actually celebrated, and more importantly, loved for who he is.
Within months of his first year at OSS, we purchased a home which borders on the Threefold Community. In Jake’s last year of high school, he began spending time at Endeavor 21+ (E 21+), attending woodworking and culinary arts classes. When it came time for him to graduate, he transitioned seamlessly to full time participation at E 21+. Now, three years later, Jake is a beloved member not only of the E 21+ community but of the larger Threefold Community as well. When he walks across campus from our house to his volunteer job at the Threefold Café, he is greeted warmly by former teachers, friends he knows from his work at the Fiber Craft Studio, and students from OSS. Who wouldn’t love to hear a voice yelling “Hi Jake, we love you Jake” on the “commute” to work.
In the years since we bought our home in Chestnut Ridge, we have met other parents with children who attend E 21+ and volunteer at Threefold, who have similarly been drawn to this beautiful, inclusive community and purchased homes near campus. These are parents who share similar hopes, dreams, and fears for our young adults with disabilities. It was out of this group that Evergreen Circle was born.
We have lovely, kind neighbors in our apartment building in New York City. But during Jake’s school years, there was not a single family who we would have felt comfortable calling if we were unable to meet his afternoon school bus due to an emergency. With the parents in Evergreen Circle, they all “get it” and understand the joys and challenges of life with a family member with disabilities. All of these parents are struggling with the worry of “what happens when I am no longer here?” The work of creating a sustainable life for our loved ones is real. Our hope is that together we will build something that answers that question — and outlasts us. Evergreen Circle is a start.
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