Ground broken on new Megan’s House in Lee County

LEESBURG — The new Megan’s House came one step closer to reality with a formal groundbreaking at its future site on Forrester Parkway in Lee County on Monday.

Beth English, director for Easter Seals Southern Georgia, said the fundraising efforts had produced $400,000 by Monday of the $600,000 campaign. Building permits have gone through for the project, and construction is expected to begin any day and last for six months.

Given that time frame, Easter Seals officials said it is likely Megan’s House will open in early fall.

When it does open, visitors will notice that, to allow for greater privacy, the front of the building will face a driveway rather than Forrester Parkway. The facility will meet the needs of Southwest Georgia children who have developmental disabilities, autism or are medically fragile and need to be cared for by qualified professionals.

English said the groundbreaking was “a dream come true” on Monday, and that she was pleased with the support for Megan’s House.

“On any given week, at least one check will come in,” she said. “People have been very supportive.”

The new facility is expected to replace the current Megan’s House on Palmyra Road in Albany that currently allows respite for one family at a time. Children stay at the current center, on average, somewhere between two days and two weeks at a time.

An expanded center is expected to allow Megan’s House to put three families on the schedule while having an additional space for emergencies.

Megan’s House, which also has sites in Waycross and Valdosta, was named for Megan Hollomon. Megan was diagnosed with a condition shortly after birth that left her mentally and physically challenged. She died suddenly in 2003 at the age of 14.

Carol Hollomon, Megan’s mother, died in 2014. She helped to found Megan’s House shortly after her daughter’s death and remained an advocate until her passing.

Since her death, her widower, Wayne Hollomon, has represented the family in support of Megan’s House.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” he said Monday. “It is sweet in the fact we are doing it. It is bitter in that she (Carol) is not here. We appreciate them naming it after Megan. I am honored and happy as anything.

“(Carol) is probably in heaven rejoicing right now. After Megan died, she went all out for Megan’s House.”

Members of the Hollomon family, among many others, have come together in recent years to honor the memory of a girl who was unable to walk or talk on her own. It started with Megan’s story, and her father said he is overwhelmed at the response.

“People did donate, and so many people of different groups came together,” Hollomon said.

The Palmyra Road location was the original Megan’s House site. The fundraising campaign has been ongoing since 2014 to raise funds to build the new facility.