When Lockport resident Joe Ledesma was recommended for one of New Directions’ sober-living housing during his recovery journey, he planned to stay in Crystal Lake only for six months.

But the close-knit ties of McHenry County’s recovery community inspired him to lay down roots and help those also on the road to sobriety.

Like many New Directions Addiction Recovery Services employees, Ledesma was hired as a case manager last year after going through the organization’s sober-living program himself. The Woodstock-based nonprofit has been helping those in need of recovery from substance abuse and addiction since 2011. One of the programs provides sober-living communities in Woodstock and Crystal Lake.

Ledesma works with residents in the sober-living recovery homes by offering peer support, keeping track of recovery goals and planning future goals.

Having stayed in sober-living residences himself, “and seeing it from both sides of the coin, it can be kind of surreal at times,” he said. “I really just want to be there to have those guys’ backs, because they’re my peers in recovery. We’re shoulder to shoulder in this thing, and I was once where they were.”

About 200 residents go through New Directions’ sober-living facilities each year, Executive Director Christine Grierson said. Many of the organization’s full-time employees, including Grierson, have been through the recovery journey.

“We are based in peer support, not clinical implication,” she said. “Including myself, we have all battled and found recovery. It’s about walking that walk with people who understand.”

Ledesma came to Crystal Lake in 2024 after New Directions was suggested to him while he was in a program in Aurora. He said he intended to stay only a month, but quickly fell in love with the community.

“The recovery community out here just kind of blew my mind,” he said. “There are so many kinds of meetings, so many kinds of people. All age groups, all kinds of backgrounds. So I ended up, basically, long story short, I got to a place where I didn’t want to leave.”

Grierson agrees that McHenry County is more “advanced” in recovery support than other areas of the state. She attributes much of their success to the McHenry County Mental Health Board, which supports a wide range of care.

“In McHenry County, it’s very well known that recovery doesn’t happen in isolation,” she said.

That sense of community is a center point for New Directions’ sober bar, The Other Side, at 135 Beardsley St. in Crystal Lake. The cafe hosts many recovery meetings and provides free vending machines of fentanyl test strips and naloxone spray, part of efforts to prevent and reverse opioid overdoses.

Ledesma was inspired to grow the community by starting a specific type of recovery group that is “near and dear” to him. Using Buddhist principles, Refuge Recovery emphasizes mindfulness and meditation.

A refuge group already meets on Wednesdays, but Ledesma wanted to provide another way to increase accessibility by meeting on Friday evenings and Saturday afternoons. The group officially started in January.

“I figured I’d try to see if we can make it grow a little bit,” he said.

New Directions is steeped in the 12-step program, which was first established by Alcoholics Anonymous. Having other options is vital, and the organization is always open to having new support groups, Grierson said.

The strong efforts of the county’s recovery community could be making an impact. The McHenry County Department of Health reports that as of January, opioid overdose deaths, emergency room visits and exposures are trending lower than historical data for the last five years.

The health department estimates that about 7% of McHenry County’s adult population suffers from alcohol or substance use disorder.

“It’s profound,” Grierson said. “We’re not alone. That’s the thing about it. It’s more widespread than people really understand.”

Ledesma said anyone struggling with addiction can find a strong community in McHenry County that thrives in helping people. He’s taking another step toward being that helper by earning his Certified Recovery Support Specialist certification at Elgin Community College.

“It’s possible to recover,” he said. “The hardest part for me was being willing to begin.”

One positive aspect is that Grierson said she is seeing less stigma surrounding addiction. And that New Directions continues to grow in serving more people. The nonprofit recently broke ground on a $1.6 million affordable sober living apartment building in Woodstock, aiming to complete the project by the spring of next year.

To continue with their mission, New Directions is always in need of donations and volunteers, Grierson said. All of their events are staffed entirely by volunteers, and they are looking for extra help with a golf outing on June 15 in Woodstock and The Other Side’s annual Zero Fest.

More information can be found at ndars.org.

“You just have to have a heart for second chances,” Grierson said.