County Board Approves Women’s Residential Treatment Center in Joliet

Will County Board Meeting | December 18, 2025

Article Summary: The Will County Board unanimously approved zoning changes to allow the Existential Counselor Society to open a women’s residential treatment facility for substance use disorders in Joliet. Proponents emphasized the critical lack of gender-specific residential care options currently available in the county.

Women’s Treatment Center Key Points:

• Location: 111 Patterson Road, Joliet (formerly “The Cellar”).

• Facility Details: A 13-to-16 bed residential treatment center specifically for women, staffed 24/7.

• Need: Advocates cited that women accounted for approximately 22% of overdose deaths in Will County as of November 2025.

• Zoning Action: The board approved a map amendment from C-4 to R-5 and a special use permit for a halfway house/in-patient rehabilitation facility.

The Will County Board on Thursday, December 18, 2025, voted unanimously to approve zoning changes paving the way for a new women’s residential treatment program in Joliet.

The board approved a map amendment and a special use permit for the property at 111 Patterson Road, allowing the Existential Counselor Society (ECS) to renovate the existing commercial building into an in-patient drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.

Dr. Bipin Sharma, CEO and founder of ECS, addressed the board during the public hearing, highlighting a significant gap in local healthcare services.

“Yet today in Will County, there is no freestanding residential treatment program for women. This is a critical gap in care that no longer can be ignored,” Sharma said. He noted that as of late November 2025, women accounted for roughly 22% of all confirmed overdose fatalities in the county.

The new facility is designed to be a non-detox, non-acute program serving medically stable clients. It will operate with a low census of 13 to a maximum of 16 clients to allow for individualized therapeutic focus.

Several community partners spoke in support of the project, including representatives from Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital, Heartgrove Behavioral Health System, and local counseling services.

“Women benefit from gender-responsive, trauma-informed residential treatment that recognizes unique pathways into substance use and the barriers women face in accessing care,” said Angela Solis, owner of Crossroads Counseling Services.

Paula Ekstrom, program director for the Wilmington Coalition for a Healthy Community and a person in long-term recovery, emphasized the unique challenges women face.

“It’s different to be a woman in recovery,” Ekstrom told the board. “To have as steady of a base of recovery under them as possible is a huge thing, not only for them but for the families that they are trying to raise.”

The facility will accept Illinois Medicaid plans, which Sharma stated ensures treatment is accessible regardless of socioeconomic status.