Maitri Path to Wellness opens in Peru to help people recover from addiction

Kelly Jones paused her tour Saturday of the new Maitri Path to Wellness in downtown Peru to share what inspired her to open up the residential drug addiction and mental illness recovery center.

In the bedroom where she stopped, a sign was hung in memory of Alek R. Pellino.

Pellino was one of three people she said inspired her directly. Without a residential drug addiction treatment facility within 85 miles of La Salle County, Pellino received treatment in Addison, hours away from his family support system. He died in September of 2021, trying to get help.

Jones said she saved a poem Pellino wrote to her.

The Maitri Path to Wellness opened Monday its outpatient counseling services at 710 Peoria St. in downtown Peru with plans to begin taking in residents as soon as February. Maitri previously had operated outpatient services in La Salle. The residential treatment center component of the facility, which will be the first of its kind in the Illinois Valley, will house as many as 12 men and 12 women.

“I wish this would’ve been here for (Alek),” said Lisa Nolan, Pellino’s mother, who was in attendance Saturday for Maitri’s open house. “The area definitely needs it. I’m proud of (Kelly Jones) for everything she’s doing to help people.”

Maitri Path to Wellness will be a residential halfway house for residents of La Salle, Putnam, Bureau, Grundy, Livingston, Marshall, Kendall, Woodford, Lee and southern DeKalb counties that will offer support services for people with drug addictions reentering the community after incarceration, as well as those who were previously at an inpatient addiction recovery facility.

Eligible residents will have to commit to a drug and alcohol-free lifestyle and show evidence of 30 days of sobriety, then they will be assessed for a personalized treatment plan.

Jones said there will be a peer support network and certified recovery support specialists to build life skills training, independent living skills and promote hobbies and passions. Residents will stay for three to six months at the facility.

Friday and Saturday community members were given tours and information about the new program. The building has a communal kitchen with a dining area, group rooms, office space, clinical space and living room areas with large televisions and couches.

Jake Davis, a graduate of the La Salle County drug court, was one of the visitors Saturday, and another one of Jones’ inspirations.

“It’ll make a huge impact,” said Davis, who received treatment staying in the Chicago area. “It’s challenging for anyone looking to move back to the area, where their family is, after they’ve gotten a job up there and learned how to get on their feet up there, and then have to start over again down here by getting another job, and finding a place to live.”

Davis said what also makes it challenging staying so far away for residential addiction treatment is there is an expectation still to return to attend court dates in La Salle County.

Davis has been a success story. He’s working and raising a family, and building his independent living skills, along with maintaining sobriety, Jones said.

That’s what Jones is hoping her facility will do for future residents, making the process much easier on them, by being closer to home.

Jones, who formerly worked at the La Salle County Jail, said she started looking for properties in the summer of 2021 to start a facility she heard many times was needed in the area. She found the Peoria Street building in February 2022.

With the assistance of the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation, she was able to obtain two grants from Illinois Housing Development Authority under its Housing for Justice Involved Individuals Program, receiving $475,000 from each. In total, her project to renovate the Peoria Street building cost about $2.8 million, she said.

Cynthia Fife and Patty Cohen have known Jones for years and they said at Saturday’s open house they were not surprised that she was the one who stepped up to the plate to provide a long-overdue service to the area.

“She always knows how to get what she needs, where to go, who to call and she’s good at getting it done,” Fife said. “She’s a special person and I have no doubt this place will be full and successful before too long. That speaks to who she is and that she gets things done.”

A third inspiration to Jones was an individual who had been released from the La Salle County Jail and wanted to try Vivitrol, a medication that reduces an individual’s dependence for drugs and alcohol. The person told Jones they couldn’t get the treatment for at least a month and were looking to get it sooner, but no one in the area was available to provide it. Despite their effort and Jones’ effort to get it, the individual had relapsed on drugs and died before they were able to try the treatment, Jones said.

Jones said she will work with a doctor to have that option available at Maitri.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Jones said. “Time is of the essence with addiction.”

Jones said the facility gives people a better chance to recover.

“It’s closer to home, which reduces a lot of challenges,” she said. “There is more of a support network closer to home, where families are, and helps them get established where they want to live.”

For more information about services

Call 815-780-0690, go to maitripathtowellness.com or email info@maitripathtowellness.com for more information about the new facility at 710 Peoria St., Peru.