New group home serving adults with serious mental illness under construction in south Rockford

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A new group home that will serve 10 adults living with serious mental health issues is under construction at Newburg Road and Stony Creek Way, across from the Peterson Meadows retirement community.

Stepping Stones of Rockford, a nonprofit that provides residential services for people with serious and persistent mental illness, celebrated on Tuesday the groundbreaking on the new residences at 1480 Stony Creek Way.

The home will help the nonprofit increase access to needed care, potentially reducing homelessness and incarceration for individuals living with mental illness. Residents are provided supportive services that help them transition to more self-reliant housing, increase their education and gain employment.

The project was funded with the help of the half-cent sales tax for mental health initiatives that voters approved in March 2020 and extended in November through June 2026. Construction costs total more than $2 million and are paid for with the help of $1.65 million from the sales tax.

“We had a very long waiting list for a long time, so we’ve been trying to increase access to care,” said Susan Schroeder, CEO of Stepping Stones of Rockford. “The half-cent sales tax allowed us to do that. Last fall we opened a group home on Highland Avenue, where we increased access by eight beds. We had the dream to have a fully handicapped accessible home, which none of the rest of our homes are, to be able to offer our services to a wider range of individuals.”

Joe Clinton III, president of the Stepping Stones board of directors, said it is the first group home serving adults with mental illness built from the ground up in at least three decades. Mayor Tom McNamara said it may be even longer than that.

“It really needs to be a reminder for everyone in our city and county that when we prioritize people with mental illness we make our city a stronger, more compassionate community for everyone,” McNamara said.

Construction is led by Schmeling Construction Co., which started work a few weeks ago. It was designed by the Larson & Darby Group. The goal is to complete construction on the 8,707-square-foot group home by mid-November with the first residents occupying the building before the end of the year.

The home will be supervised and operated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Staff members will include a master’s level rehabilitative supervisor, a program manager, a mental health professionals and rehabilitative service aids.

Residents will also have access to educational and pre-vocational services, as well as nursing and prescriptions for psychiatric medication. Services offered at the home include case management, financial management, counseling, crisis intervention, daily living skills and a variety of other individualized treatments to prepare residents to eventually move out.

Stepping Stones started as a halfway house in 1969, and now serves about 160 people in residential settings across the city. An additional 800 are served through its counseling center at 4317 Maray Drive.

The group home is intended to serve as a step in the process toward less restrictive living. The next level of care after the group home in Stepping Stones model is a 24-hour supervised apartment.

“One of the most important decisions to be made by individuals with serious mental illness and their families is where the person will live,” Schroeder said. “I am pleased that Stepping Stones will be able to make that decision easier for 10 individuals and their families by opening this home. Our organization has operated group homes for decades and I fully expect this new group home will be here for those in need for years to come.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas