Sinnissippi to open recovery home for women in Amboy

AMBOY – Sinnissippi Centers is on its way to opening a second recovery home, this one for women.

The behavioral health care agency opened the area’s first recovery home in May 2018 providing 10 beds for men with substance use disorder who need extended support to stay clean and sober.

So far, 24 men have stayed at the home at 922 Washington Ave. in Dixon, which Sinnissippi leases from Kreider Services, Sinnissippi President and CEO Patrick Phelan said.

Sinnissippi recently purchased a former Kreider group home, Amboy Terrace at 200 W. Hawley St., for $250,000, and plans to use it as the new recovery home.

The property is ideal, because Kreider and Sinnissippi are held to similar state standards for client housing.

“The first home has worked out wonderfully, and this became a great option for a second home,” Phelan said.

Sinnissippi is applying to be a 15-bed home for women, and also seeing if the home could accommodate some women and their children, he said.

Minor renovations are being done, and they were able to secure state funding for certain recovery expenses through Substance Use Prevention and Recovery funds. The next steps will include licensing and inspections.

The home should open by June 30, the end of Sinnissippi’s fiscal year.

Recovery homes are meant to provide a supportive environment for those coming out of rehab and lower the chance of relapse. Residents’ length of stay varies, but averages about 3 to 9 months.

It’s been about 3 years since Sinnissippi started planning for a recovery home to address a gap in services in the area, and they’re getting closer to filling that gap, Phelan said.

Kreider built Amboy Terrace in 1991 to house clients with developmental disabilities, but closed the home last year after difficulty finding enough staff to operate it, Kreider Executive Director Jeff Stauter said. It required about 12 to 16 people to properly staff the home.

It was a tough decision, but it was the only option they had, Stauter said.

Kreider operates three other homes in Amboy.

More information

Call 815-284-6611, go to sinnissippi.org or find Sinnissippi Centers on Facebook for more information.

Donations to the nonprofit Sinnissippi Foundation can be made at sinnissippi.org/foundation/ or sent to The Sinnissippi Foundation, 325 state Route 2, Suite 100, Dixon, IL 61021.