Center for troubled girls opens

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Throughout her adult life, Debi Lynes has opened her heart and home to children and teens that needed nurturing, love and guidance.

“It was always a revolving door at our house for people who had lost their way,” she said of the Hilton Head home she shares with Mike, her husband of more than 20 years.

Now, Lynes, who overcame anorexia, which she suffered from for many years, has opened her heart once again by opening a facility in Bluffton for troubled adolescent girls.

Tulifinny (which means “healing hands”) is a 47-acre rural campus that was originally built five years ago as an equestrian facility and site for the owner’s ministry.

The owner sold the site at an affordable price to Tulifinny, because “he believed in what we’re doing,” said Lynes.

On a rainy February day, the rural campus is a postcard picture of peace and serenity. As you drive in, to your right is a 3-acre manmade lake. A smallish lake house with a wrap-around porch is used for yoga and individual or group therapy. Straight ahead is Calhoun Place, which includes the administrative offices. Behind that building is a covered horse-riding arena that is maintained by Heroes on Horseback, which has relocated to the site. That group provides equine therapy for people with physical and/or emotional disabilities. It maintains the stalls at Tulifinny in exchange for $1 in rental fees.

One of the goals at Tulifinny is to offer the girls equine-assisted therapy, a program that is a collaboration between therapist, patient, horse professional and horse to help the patient learn about herself and others by completing specific activities.

Near the building that houses Heroes on Horseback is Coosawhatchie Stables, where there are six chickens, a llama, three dwarf goats and two Vietnamese pigs, among other animals. Tulifinny has also partnered with the local Kennel Club to provide puppies for the girls to raise.

“I always knew I wanted to do something with adolescents and pets,” said Lynes. “These animals give the girls something they are responsible for.”

tulifinny_1_0310 Also in the buildings on the site are “Magnolia Manor” and the “Wisteria Wing,” which are used for individual and group therapy and classrooms. Hilton Head’s Heritage Academy provides on-campus schooling for the residents. The residential rooms are light, airy and spotless. The walls in the rooms are blank so that the residents can create their own art or hang pictures. The facility, which can house 28 girls, also has meditation areas, gardens, a volleyball court and more.

Within the facility are amazing pieces of art that are also therapeutic, including those that address body image.

One of the features of Tulifinny is that “it was built with ‘green’ in mind before ‘green’ was cool,” said Lynes. “Environment can influence behavior, so everything was done with the environment in mind. The entire property is sustainable.”

Some of the “green” touches include:

Hoses in the manmade lake to aerate the land around it;

Their own generator and well system;

Composting areas;

And organic gardens.

Lynes said they are also applying for grants to install solar power.

An idea becomes a reality

tulifinny_2_0310 Opening Tulifinny was “a dream,” said Lynes, who was a longtime interior decorater on Hilton Head before getting her master’s degree in counseling. She is currently working on her doctorate in human services.

The idea for Tulifinny started to take shape about several 15 years ago. “The more I counseled kids, the more I realized there was a huge void in the market for long-term care … a place to allow them to habituate the skills we can teach them.

“I wasn’t sure (Tulifinny) would come to fruition,” she said.

Then she met Frank Concino at a Programs for Exceptional People meeting. Concino worked as a banker in Pennsylvania for many years before moving to Indigo Run on Hilton Head in 2007. Here, he worked with SunTrust for two years before heading into retirement.

That’s when he met Lynes, who was looking for a business person to help her develop a business plan for the venture,
“I was looking to do some financial consulting, and Debi asked me if I would help put a business plan together for Tulifinny,” said Concino in a December interview. “After doing that, Debi invited me to be CFO of Tulifinny. With Debi’s enthusiasm and passion and me learning more about these young women’s situations, I got very involved.

“My retirement was short-lived, but this was a chance for us to make an impact on young women’s lives and help them get their lives under control.”

Tulifinny opened its doors in early January. And Debi Lynes saw her vision become a reality.

”Tulifinny is a nurturing, supportive, caring environment,” she said. “I have such faith in adolescents to overcome problems, to make a fresh start.”

tulifinny_3_0310 As she writes in a letter to residents: “We may be far from home, and this may not exactly be your idea of a great place to be, but I will promise you this, we are here to support you when times are good and when internal conflict and confusion runs rampant. We care! We want you to find happiness, health and wellness and the staff at Tulifinny will do our best to lend strength, hope and faith throughout your journey.”

The philosophy

The philosophy at Tulifinny is to provide “a comprehensive recovery management treatment program specializing in helping young women struggling with substance abuse and co-occurring disorders such as depression, anxiety, trauma, body image, impulse control and family conflict.

“ … Our team works with young women and their families to provide an individual recovery and healing of body, mind and spirit.”

There are four basic components at Tulifinny: