Roughly half the Josselyn Center’s 8,000 clients in Lake and northern Cook counties live in the Waukegan area, and the 74-year-old organization is more than tripling the size of its local facility to accommodate them.
Opening its first Waukegan office on Washington Street in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, Josselyn CEO and President Susan Resko said providing in-person mental health care was a challenge.
As needs in the community mounted and more people came to the facility, Resko said the number of clients getting help in Waukegan grew to around 4,000 of the approximately 8,000 individuals benefitting from Josselyn’s services. A medical facility, not an office, was required.
“This is the right kind of place to serve our clients,” Resko said of the new building. “It is designed to be both a medical and therapeutic facility, not an office space. It’s our own building, where we can provide the healthcare services needed.”
The Josselyn Center officially opened its new healthcare facility on March 24 at the northwest corner of Genesee and Clayton streets in downtown Waukegan to offer a wide range of medical and therapeutic services for northern Lake County.
Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor, who was at the grand opening ceremony last week, said the enlarged and modernized Josselyn location fills a purpose that is complementary to other services already offered in the downtown area.
“This has brought much-needed mental health services to our city,” Taylor said. “It will bring 50 people working into our downtown. It will help them do family therapy. There will be room for their own people to go to de-stress.”
Starting in Northfield in 1951, Resko said the organization’s headquarters is now in Northbrook, though there is still a Northfield location. There are also facilities in Highland Park and Grayslake.
Offering therapy, counseling, services from a psychologist on staff or — if medication is needed — psychiatry offering a full-service program, according to the organization’s website. Nurses are available, as well as others to handle case management.
Open to anyone who has a need, Resko said operating in Waukegan and other parts of northeast Lake Country like North Chicago and Zion, the Josselyn Center offers services many others do not. Downtown Waukegan is accessible to people who rely on public transportation.
“We help lower the barriers to access treatment to people who might not have a car or prefer not to drive,” Resko said. “We accept people on Medicare and Medicaid, and have a sliding scale (of fees) based on income eligibility.”
Making it clear the Josselyn Center is an outpatient facility, Resko said if hospitalization is needed, the appropriate personnel from Joselyn will make a referral.
Leaving its former 10,000-square-foot location on Washington Street, Resko said the 37,000-square-foot new building not only offers significantly more space, but enables Josselyn staff to create a facility made specifically for its needs.
“This is a big upgrade with a lot of possibilities,” Resko said. “The size of the rooms were designed to address our needs. It was a shell inside which we were able to mold to our purposes. We’ve designed it for our specific needs.”
Among the attributes of the building’s design, Resko said the walls provide the necessary soundproofing for privacy. There is also room for the staff — including mental health professionals — to take needed breaks between clients.
Another benefit of the additional space is are areas for group counseling and play therapy for children. Whether playing on their own or engaging in a board game with a therapist, youngsters — unlike many adults — communicate through actions.
“Children converse through their play and their interaction with their counselor,” Resko said. “By seeing how they express themselves, it helps determine what development is appropriate. They demonstrate their emotions through their play.”
Though Josselyn Center has operated in Waukegan for five years, Taylor said the downtown location in a larger building adds to the variety of human services already there.
