68-acre horse farm in Will County converted into recovery site for men
Chicago-area horse farm converted into recovery site for men
What was once a premier harness racing training facility in the south suburbs is now getting a new lease on life — in a completely different line of work.
CRETE, Ill. - What was once a premier harness racing training facility in Will County is now getting a new lease on life — in a completely different line of work.
Some owners still train and board their horses at what used to be known as the Double Dakota Farm in far south suburban Crete. As interest in harness racing declined, the facility itself began to deteriorate over the past several years.
What we know:
The owner recently sold it to Jim O’Connor, the executive director of the Second Story Foundation.
From recovery to reinvestment
"This is really a project about giving back what was given to us," O’Connor said.
O'Connor is also a certified alcohol and drug counselor with the nonprofit organization, whose mission is to support men in early recovery from substance-use disorder.
"We received a tremendous amount of love and that changed our lives. And we're committed to doing whatever we can to offer that kind of love, structure, work and opportunity to other people," he said.
O'Connor and his partner hope to do that by getting this 68-acre farm back up and running and making it a place for the men they are helping to live and work.
A new model for support
The location will serve as both the residential and work site for a long-term supportive housing program designed for men transitioning out of a 28-day substance use disorder treatment program.
O'Connor says having a job and continued structure immediately after treatment is crucial.
"When you have severe substance-use disorder, and you're housing unstable and unemployed, small mistakes can be huge setbacks," he said.
Six to twelve months of stability
That's why he and his team created this farm-based program that takes away those stressors for about six months to a year.
"In the first phase of the program, they'll be working in land management, maintenance and horse care and they'll receive stipends for their work here. When they're recovered, when they're far enough in their recovery and they're stable, they will move from the farm to pay jobs in the community and they will live with us rent-free the whole time," O’Connor said.
When they're not working on the farm or at other jobs, O’Connor plans to build a 7,000-square-foot lodge on the site to house up to 15 men.
Adding equine therapy
What about the horses that are still on the farm?
"This stable we're in has 84 stalls and right now we have around 50 Standardbred harness racing horses boarded here. We plan on keeping about 10 stalls for our men in our program," O’Connor said.
He says the plan is to add equine-assisted therapy to their program.
"Working for horses around horses, but really being able to spend time with taking care of another living creature is really, you know a transform transformative process," O’Connor said.
He knows that firsthand, having gone through treatment himself.
"There's a great line ‘horses give us the wings we lack,'" O’Connor said.
What's next:
O'Connor and his team would like to fill the remaining 20 stalls by boarding more horses for the harness racing industry.
If funding continues to come in as they hope, O'Connor says they will break ground on the new lodge this fall, and with the goal of completing construction by next summer.
The Source: Fox 32 anchor Scott Schneider interviewed Jim O’Connor, the executive director of the Second Story Foundation, for this story.