AllenForce creates new space for Joliet veterans

Joliet-area veterans soon will have a new place to socialize and access services targeted to their needs – through the efforts of AllenForce.

The nonprofit organization has been working for months to renovate its rented space at 3581 Hennepin Drive near the Louis Joliet Mall into an accessible community center for veterans of all ages.

“This is a plan we’ve been working toward for the last 12 years,” said AllenForce founder Donna Allen Rielage, who started the organization for veterans and their families in memory of her father Don Allen. “Plainfield Township has provided us with office space for our few employees, but what we really needed was a regular space where we could have activities and programs, and we’ve never had a solo space where people can just come and hang out.”

Rielage said the organization’s goal is to open the Veteran Recreation and Wellness Center on Veterans Day in 2024.

The 3,000-square-foot space will include a small office for AllenForce staff as well as remote workspace for members, a lobby and reception area with sitting room space, 1,000 square feet of recreation space for programming for veterans and their families, a quiet wellness room, a kitchen and an activity room for solo activities such as puzzles and crafts. The building also has green space around it for outdoor activities.

“We want it to be a home away from home type space with activities and friendly faces for people who’ve served in the military and their families,” Rielage said.

AllenForce prides itself on its “holistic” approach to therapy for veterans who are dealing with mental and physical health effects from their time in the service. This includes a focus on “therapeutic recreation,” which engages former service members in physical activities and gives them an opportunity to socialize with others who may be facing similar circumstances.

Some of the services and programming that Rieglage said the new center plans on hosting regularly are activities such as art and dance classes, movie nights, massage therapy, cooking classes targeted at special dietary needs, reiki and fitness classes. Rieglage also said AllenForce is working on bringing in counselors and social workers who can meet with veterans at the center.

“We know some of these services are available at veteran centers and the [Department of Veterans Affairs], but we also know that those are not always easily accessible,” Rieglage said. “We wanted to get some of those people to come here to give our members another location that might be closer to home.”

Rieglage said the top goal of the facility is to give veterans a place where they can feel less isolated and become more immersed in the community.

“What we hear a lot from the veterans and the families we work with is that they love going into the community and hanging out with other veterans, but sometimes places like the VFW or American Legion can be challenging environments for people with mental health issues or for people struggling with sobriety,” Rielage said.

Rieglage said the finished center will be designed specifically to accommodate veterans with conditions like anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Obviously, our building will be physically accessible, but we want it to be mentally and emotionally accessible, too,” she said. “There’s lots of open space and natural lighting, and we designed it to not have dark corners or alcoves, so it’s easier for people to let their guard down.”

To participate in the center’s programming, veterans and their families must be members of AllenForce, although membership is free for service members. Rieglage said the center may make certain activities and programs open to the public for a fee as a way to continue funding the organization’s programming.

“We’re very excited,” Rieglage said. “We hope the community will be able to come out and witness examples of therapy and accessibility in practice. This is what a veteran-friendly therapeutic environment looks like.”