New Joliet health and rec center for veterans opening this week

AllenForce will host a grand opening for its Veteran Wellness & Recreation Center on Friday.

The grand opening will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 3581 Hennepin Ave. in Joliet.

The event will feature tours, games, food and live entertainment. Admission is free.

AllenForce, which was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in May 2012, helps veterans “who are injured, visibly or invisibly, through positive health and fitness training and social networking,” according to the AllenForce website.

The 3,000-square-foot center will include a small office for AllenForce staff, remote workspace for members, and a lobby and reception area with sitting room space.

Veteran Wellness & Recreation Center will also include 1,000 square feet of recreation space for programming for veterans and their families, a quiet wellness room, and a kitchen and an activity room for solo activities such as puzzles and crafts.

The green space around the building will be used for outdoor activities and programs.

Plans for programming at the Veteran Wellness & Recreation Center include art and dance classes, cooking classes targeted at special dietary needs, fitness classes, massage. therapy, movie nights and reiki.

Donna Allen Rielage, who founded AllenForce in memory of her father, Don Allen, an Army veteran, previously said AllenForce wants to bring counselors and social workers to the center to meet with veterans.

“We know some of these services are available at veteran centers and the [Department of Veterans Affairs], but we also know that those are not always easily accessible,” Rielage previously said. “We wanted to get some of those people to come here to give our members another location that might be closer to home.”

Reaching out for help often is difficult for veterans to do, something Rielage gradually understood by learning about veteran culture, Rielage previously said.

“Within that culture, they are trained to be the helpers, the warriors, the strong ones, the ones there to rescue and be strong for everyone else,” Rielage said. “It’s not within their training to recognize a need to support their own needs.”

A 2020 study showed that suicide rates among veterans increase after their transition to civilian life.

But veteran culture also has a “light” side: camaraderie, loyalty and a team approach, which is “beautiful and admirable,” Rielage previously said.

For more information, visit allenforce.org.

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