Ben Gordon Center Living Room expands for 24/7 crisis care in DeKalb

DeKALB – Laura Szymanski has been in recovery since 2017 when she first sought help at the Northwestern Medicine Ben Gordon Center.

On Monday, she joined others to announce the center’s Living Room expansion to a 24/7 operation, an effort staff said is meant to provide increased aid to those experiencing mental health or substance abuse crises.

Szymanski, who now works as a counselor at the center, 12 Health Services Drive, gathered Monday morning with colleagues, including the center’s director of behavioral health services, Sabrina Nicholson. About a dozen stood outside to celebrate the facility’s expanded care with a ribbon-cutting.

At the core of Ben Gordon’s care are counselors and licensed specialists with their own lived experiences to offer a much-needed connection to clients in crisis, staff said. That is what gives Szymanski hope, a feeling she now passes on to those in her own care.

“I have been in recovery since 2017. These days I stay on top of my laundry, I’m patient with my symptoms, but what I am most proud of, what is most dear to me is that I’ve landed my dream job as a recovery support specialist in this Living Room,” Szymanski said. “Every day I get to listen, validate, encourage, relate and advocate for guests I truly care for. So why is this so meaningful to me? Because I have been a guest at this very Living Room myself.”

Inside the Ben Gordon Center’s Living Room, clients – called guests by staff – can now walk in at any hour of the day or night, any day of the week, every day of the year if they’re experiencing mental health or substance abuse crises and want help. Guests must be 18 or older and a DeKalb County resident, but do not need to make an appointment or be a registered client of the Ben Gordon Center.

There is no cost to use The Living Room walk-in crisis center. The Center can be reached at 815-756-4875. Services also include crisis intervention planning and referrals for emergency shelter, health care and food.

“We bring peace to nighttime panic attacks. We bring light to depression’s isolation. We are here all day and everyday to listen with empathy. With the support of The Living Room, our guests can face the day, or night, with hope. I will always share the truth: I do have what it takes to live the life I want.”

—  Laura Szymanski

Data shows increased desire for access to mental health care in DeKalb County

Nicholson, who’s been with the Ben Gordon Center for 11 years and started as a therapist, said The Living Room sees about 150 clients per month. The need for expanded mental health services in DeKalb County is evident, she said.

Since September, attendance at the walk-in crisis center Living Room has grown by 50%, she said.

Ben Gordon Center’s expansion isn’t the only service looking to directly address calls for more mental health care in the community.

A 2023 survey published by the DeKalb County Mental Health Board showed that about one in every four survey respondents said they weren’t aware of mental health services available to them locally. Respondents also said they want to see more support or peer groups and an intensive outpatient treatment center in DeKalb County for those suffering from mental illness. A majority of respondents also said they would be most comfortable receiving mental health care at a mental health professional’s office.

A 2021 Northwestern Medicine community health needs assessment at Kishwaukee Hospital identified long wait times as a barrier for those seeking professional mental health treatment. The assessment also stated stigma – especially among minority communities, such as those who identify as Black or male Hispanics – remains a barrier to seeking help.

In December, Northwestern Medicine Behavioral Health Services opened a youth-centered Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program at the system’s mental health clinic, 760 Foxpointe Drive, Sycamore.

“Mental health crises do not adhere to a schedule and neither should our support services,” Nicholson said. “By offering around-the-clock care we are sending a powerful message: No one should ever have to face their struggles alone. Perhaps most importantly, The Living Room program is a testament to the power of lived experience. By empowering individuals with personal experience to take on roles of leadership and support, you’re not only provided invaluable assistance to those in crisis but also dismantling stigma and stereotypes surrounding mental health.”

At night, guests will be asked to ring the doorbell but will be welcomed in for up to a 23-hour stay. The Living Room offers recliners for rest, Nicholson said.

Upon arrival, guests undergo a brief introductory assessment, where they’ll be able to tell a staffer how they’re feeling. Staff then assess the level of care needed and can connect a guest to other resources, sometimes as simple as a listening ear.

The goal of the Center is to offer immediate care and assess needs or severity such as someone’s risk of self-harm without sending a client to an emergency department, Nicholson said. An ER’s chaotic environment can often be unhelpful for someone in the sensitive and delicate throws of mental illness or addiction.

Services one might receive in the care of The Living Room include peer counseling, recovery support, mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises or doing activities, such as coloring, journaling, board games, puzzles or listening to music. Guest also can establish a wellness recovery action plan with staff.

Szymanski sought out comfort herself at the Ben Gordon Center, and said she found warmth and professionals who listened to her.

“They followed me into my confusion and my darkness. It gave me comfort that they shared their own lived experiences and their triumphs, too,” Szymanski said. “Let me tell you: My symptoms ranged from bipolar’s highs and lows to anxiety’s prickles and distortions to ADHD’s distractibility. I used to be tormented by the thought ‘I don’t have what it takes to live the life I want.’”

With its 24/7 expansion, the Ben Gordon Center Living Room employs 17 staff, including two overnight staffers, Nicholson said. Staff tout The Living Room as a nonclinical and safe space that offers confidential and immediate help for people needing to process how overwhelming life can feel.

Michael Kokott, vice president of operations for Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee and Valley West hospitals in DeKalb and Sandwich, said the success of recovery support specialists at the Ben Gordon Center has allowed the programming to expand to other health system facilities. Northwestern Medicine Delnor and Central DuPage hospitals also will be getting the specialized staffing, he said.

“This is just a great day. It’s a way that we can serve the community,” Kokott said. “... It just fills me with pride to be able to know that we have a team that can be able to provide this to the community.”

Being able to offer that overnight care is especially needed, staff said.

For those suffering mental distress, nighttime can often feel worse than the day, according to a 2021 study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 1/3 of adults in America report they sleep less than the recommended amount. About 20% of them also have a mental illness diagnosis. Symptoms of diagnoses can be exacerbated by poor sleeping habits.

“We bring peace to nighttime panic attacks. We bring light to depression’s isolation. We are here all day and everyday to listen with empathy,” Szymanski said. “With the support of The Living Room, our guests can face the day, or night, with hope. I will always share the truth: I do have what it takes to live the life I want.”