Built from the ground up, by the community.
In 2018, Connected Communities assembled a coalition of community service providers and concerned citizens to address the devastating effects of substance misuse and brain health conditions across northwest Illinois. From the start, we brought together executive-level leaders and frontline staff from public health, healthcare, behavioral health, education, transportation, law enforcement, employment, courts, and social services.
With seed funding from HRSA's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP), we created multiple work groups that addressed over 130 projects. As teams worked upstream with a focus on prevention, a deeper truth emerged: the ultimate goal was to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma — and doing that meant addressing Social Determinants of Health at their roots.
What began as a focused response to the opioid crisis has grown into a multi-domain coalition — shaped at every turn by what our communities actually need. Today, Connected Communities is a 501(c)3 nonprofit advancing recovery, food security, youth opportunity, and affordable housing across Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside counties.
A Coalition Takes Shape
Connected Communities launched as a HRSA RCORP-funded tri-county coalition uniting 9 sectors across Lee, Ogle, and Whiteside counties to address opioid use disorder and substance misuse. Over 130 projects were initiated across multiple work groups.
13 Major Milestones Achieved
We launched Sauk Valley Voices of Recovery (750+ participants placed into treatment), expanded Safe Passages police deflection from 1 to 5 cities, placed school-based health counselors across 12 schools, expanded Medication Assisted Recovery region-wide, and created the tri-county's first Sober Living Home — among many others.
Expanding into Food & Nutritional Stability
Recognizing that recovery without food security is incomplete, we broadened our scope to address food insecurity and nutritional health disparities — part of a CDC-funded SDoH accelerator initiative focused on built environment and food access.
Housing, Youth & Community Revitalization
Now pursuing affordable housing development, youth ecosystem connection, and community revitalization — partnering with state agencies, housing developers, regional governments, and community institutions to build lasting infrastructure for the Sauk Valley.