Latest news with #JimO'Connor
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New owner plans to transform 68-acre property and horse training facility in Crete into men's rehabilitation center
At the end of 2023, after having successfully rehabbed two south west suburban homes into substance use disorder recovery centers through his nonprofit Second Story Foundation, Jim O'Connor said he faced questions of whether he sought to build a facility from scratch. 'I said, 'get me a horse farm and I'll think about it,'' O'Connor recalled. He just did that March 13, raising $1 million in private donations to acquire a 68-acre harness racing training and horse boarding facility on the corner of East Bemes Road and South Klemme Road in unincorporated Crete. O'Connor was hard at work Monday at the property, where cart-carrying horses could be seen trotting down a gravel road toward an 85-stall barn. 'I'm here four days a week, and actually working on the site probably 20 hours a week,' O'Connor said. O'Connor hails from Evanston, but said he fell in love with the south suburbs after entering alcohol abuse recovery in 2016. It took him losing his relationships — his family, friends and employer — to admit he was an alcoholic, O'Connor said. But once he did, he entered a 28-day, in-patient program in Hazel Crest that eventually led him to the horse farm that inspired him to buy the 2400 East Bemes property. He said he plans to flip the farm into a picturesque recovery center where up to 14 men can live and work for as long as they need. 'The work-based program was transformational,' O'Connor said. 'The amount of love that I've gotten from people in the recovery community … There's a lot of healthy people with not just lives of dedicated recovery, but full lives based around having made a change in their life.' On the day the ranch opens and whenever newcomers join the program, selected participants will immediately be told, 'welcome home, we love you,' O'Connor said. But before that can happen, O'Connor needs to raise funds to build the 7,000-square-foot lodge designed by the Frankfort-based Aspen Group, where residents will stay while they work toward financial, social and physiological independence. O'Connor envisions the lodge with a large commercial kitchen where his wife, Francie Byrne, will cook and serve two meals a day to residents, as well as a wraparound porch useful for group activities and individual counseling sessions. O'Connor, Byrne and a few other program leaders will live on the ranch in two staff homes. There are no houses for humans on the property, so these structures will be new. O'Connor is also looking to state, county and community block grants for the $3.5 million required to get the program on its feet. 'Money drives the timeline,' O'Connor said. 'If the grants line up, we could be building next fall to open this time next year. If the money takes longer, then it takes longer, but we're pretty much shovel ready.' The Second Story Foundation recently received $88,000 from the Will County Community Mental Health Board toward a community service partnership with the Recovery Community Center of Joliet. It will allow people within Will County Problem Solving Courts satisfy community service requirements by working on the ranch. The service event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 8 and will include a barbecue lunch and live country music. O'Connor said the foundation has begun the property zoning process through Will County and is grateful for bipartisan support for the ranch's development. Unlike many other rehabilitation facilities that accept insurance and out of pocket payments, Second Story Ranch treatment will be free of cost to those who qualify. O'Connor said the program application process involves extensive background checks and interviews to determine its best candidates. 'When you live a life of severe substance use disorder, getting caught up in the legal system and breaking the law is kind of part of it,' O'Connor said. 'We just want to know what the story is.' Those with long histories of violent crime will not qualify for the program, O'Connor said. Residents are expected to work on the farm for six to 10 months, the typical phase before they are ready to seek jobs outside the ranch. O'Connor and other program staff will provide connections and support as they transition to a job, and eventually residence, in the broader community. 'In the first phase of the program, we're just working on healing, making human connections, repairing spiritually and building the work ethic,' O'Connor said. 'Once you're working on the outside in phase 2 of our program, now we're working on financial planning, building credit scores back.' 'We're also working on the work life stressors that come from having to enter the workforce where maybe not all the employers or colleagues you work with are as compassionate to your journey as we might be,' he said. 'It's our job to be strong enough to know how to handle it.' Joey Mayer knows firsthand the value of getting to developing financial independence while maintaining a recovery focused community. The 27-year-old said he's been sober just over two years and met O'Connor while a participant at the Pathway to Sobriety program at The Center, a Palos Park's religious nonprofit organization. O'Connor also found sobriety at The Center and came back to direct the program before launching the foundation. Mayer recently moved from the Second Story Foundation's transitional home in Orland Hills to the Alsip location, where he lives with three other men in alcohol abuse recovery. While living there, Mayer works at the 9 Acres Equestrian Center stables while receiving free case management, financial planning and counseling. 'This is my first time ever having my name on a lease,' Mayer said Tuesday. 'This is like a new stepping stone for me to get adapted and acclimated to life down the road when I go to get my own home.' Mayer said he supports the ranch model of recovery, which he believes will help others escape the isolation and dependence that is commonly developed in emergency rehab programs. 'A guy who leaves rehab and doesn't follow up on programs goes back to the same environment where he was, whether that's a basement or his room,' Mayer said. 'So I think the job and responsibility straight out of rehab is very helpful … And not only that, it gives them that breath of fresh air.' ostevens@
Chicago Tribune
29-04-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
New owner plans to transform 68-acre property and horse training facility in Crete into men's rehabilitation center
At the end of 2023, after having successfully rehabbed two south west suburban homes into substance use disorder recovery centers through his nonprofit Second Story Foundation, Jim O'Connor said he faced questions of whether he sought to build a facility from scratch. 'I said, 'get me a horse farm and I'll think about it,'' O'Connor recalled. He just did that March 13, raising $1 million in private donations to acquire a 68-acre harness racing training and horse boarding facility on the corner of East Bemes Road and South Klemme Road in unincorporated Crete. O'Connor was hard at work Monday at the property, where cart-carrying horses could be seen trotting down a gravel road toward an 85-stall barn. 'I'm here four days a week, and actually working on the site probably 20 hours a week,' O'Connor said. O'Connor hails from Evanston, but said he fell in love with the south suburbs after entering alcohol abuse recovery in 2016. It took him losing his relationships — his family, friends and employer — to admit he was an alcoholic, O'Connor said. But once he did, he entered a 28-day, in-patient program in Hazel Crest that eventually led him to the horse farm that inspired him to buy the 2400 East Bemes property. He said he plans to flip the farm into a picturesque recovery center where up to 14 men can live and work for as long as they need. 'The work-based program was transformational,' O'Connor said. 'The amount of love that I've gotten from people in the recovery community … There's a lot of healthy people with not just lives of dedicated recovery, but full lives based around having made a change in their life.' On the day the ranch opens and whenever newcomers join the program, selected participants will immediately be told, 'welcome home, we love you,' O'Connor said. But before that can happen, O'Connor needs to raise funds to build the 7,000-square-foot lodge designed by the Frankfort-based Aspen Group, where residents will stay while they work toward financial, social and physiological independence. O'Connor envisions the lodge with a large commercial kitchen where his wife, Francie Byrne, will cook and serve two meals a day to residents, as well as a wraparound porch useful for group activities and individual counseling sessions. O'Connor, Byrne and a few other program leaders will live on the ranch in two staff homes. There are no houses for humans on the property, so these structures will be new. O'Connor is also looking to state, county and community block grants for the $3.5 million required to get the program on its feet. 'Money drives the timeline,' O'Connor said. 'If the grants line up, we could be building next fall to open this time next year. If the money takes longer, then it takes longer, but we're pretty much shovel ready.' The Second Story Foundation recently received $88,000 from the Will County Community Mental Health Board toward a community service partnership with the Recovery Community Center of Joliet. It will allow people within Will County Problem Solving Courts satisfy community service requirements by working on the ranch. The service event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 8 and will include a barbecue lunch and live country music. O'Connor said the foundation has begun the property zoning process through Will County and is grateful for bipartisan support for the ranch's development. Unlike many other rehabilitation facilities that accept insurance and out of pocket payments, Second Story Ranch treatment will be free of cost to those who qualify. O'Connor said the program application process involves extensive background checks and interviews to determine its best candidates. 'When you live a life of severe substance use disorder, getting caught up in the legal system and breaking the law is kind of part of it,' O'Connor said. 'We just want to know what the story is.' Those with long histories of violent crime will not qualify for the program, O'Connor said. Residents are expected to work on the farm for six to 10 months, the typical phase before they are ready to seek jobs outside the ranch. O'Connor and other program staff will provide connections and support as they transition to a job, and eventually residence, in the broader community. 'In the first phase of the program, we're just working on healing, making human connections, repairing spiritually and building the work ethic,' O'Connor said. 'Once you're working on the outside in phase 2 of our program, now we're working on financial planning, building credit scores back.' 'We're also working on the work life stressors that come from having to enter the workforce where maybe not all the employers or colleagues you work with are as compassionate to your journey as we might be,' he said. 'It's our job to be strong enough to know how to handle it.' Joey Mayer knows firsthand the value of getting to developing financial independence while maintaining a recovery focused community. The 27-year-old said he's been sober just over two years and met O'Connor while a participant at the Pathway to Sobriety program at The Center, a Palos Park's religious nonprofit organization. O'Connor also found sobriety at The Center and came back to direct the program before launching the foundation. Mayer recently moved from the Second Story Foundation's transitional home in Orland Hills to the Alsip location, where he lives with three other men in alcohol abuse recovery. While living there, Mayer works at the 9 Acres Equestrian Center stables while receiving free case management, financial planning and counseling. 'This is my first time ever having my name on a lease,' Mayer said Tuesday. 'This is like a new stepping stone for me to get adapted and acclimated to life down the road when I go to get my own home.' Mayer said he supports the ranch model of recovery, which he believes will help others escape the isolation and dependence that is commonly developed in emergency rehab programs. 'A guy who leaves rehab and doesn't follow up on programs goes back to the same environment where he was, whether that's a basement or his room,' Mayer said. 'So I think the job and responsibility straight out of rehab is very helpful … And not only that, it gives them that breath of fresh air.'
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
New exhibition gives closer look at how Oregon topography has changed since early 1900s
PORTLAND, Ore. () — A new exhibition examines how environmental changes have impacted Oregon's natural areas since the early 1900s. The Oregon Historical Society's has been on display for just over a week. The museum's latest exhibit compares century-old photos of well-known mountains, lakes and glaciers to more modern images captured in the same area. Environmental advocates set out to appeal Zenith Energy's Portland permit According to OHS, the older photos were taken by late Recreational Planner Frederick Cleator as he led the U.S. Forest Service's 'Skyline Party' during a three-month expedition from Crater Lake to the Columbia River Highway starting in summer 1920. Although original plans to construct a scenic highway in the area failed, the museum noted the expedition resulted in the formation of what was once known as the Oregon Skyline Trail — along with 700 photos of local topography. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The new exhibit showcases 75 photos of the areas geologist Jim O'Connor recaptured around the same day and time as the original images, but a century later. 'I've been motivated by the century of change revealed in these matched pairs, and the photographs tell these stories much more vividly than words,' O'Connor told OHS. 'Plus, I revel in the challenge of finding the exact places that previous photographers like Cleator have set up their cameras, in some instances probably places that have known few footsteps since his.' The geologist said he originally visited the Central Oregon Cascades to capture the Three Sisters area's changing glaciers, but he became interested in other changes like 'vegetation, lakes and streams as well as human uses of the high country.' PHOTOS: Marion County bridge peels box truck like a can of tuna The exhibition with his work also features descriptions of interactions between Oregon's environment and its residents. The project will be featured at the downtown museum through Nov. 25. OHS additionally offers an online audio tour for those who can't see the exhibit in person. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Zawya
19-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
USTTI partners with GCF to advance women's leadership in cybersecurity globally
The United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) and the Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) have announced a partnership to deliver the 'Empowering Women to Leadership in Cyber' program, aimed at advancing women to cybersecurity leadership positions The joint program will train and provide emerging female cybersecurity leaders with the skills required to reduce barriers for women at the various stages of their cybersecurity careers, with sessions delivered in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia NEW YORK – The Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) and the United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) have established a joint program aimed at increasing representation of women in cybersecurity leadership positions globally. The announcement was made during Meet GCF New York, held on February 18 at the United Nations Headquarters, at which GCF convened international leaders and diplomats to hear thought-provoking insights on addressing key opportunities and challenges in Cyberspace. According to GCF's 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Report, there is a shortage of 2.8 million cybersecurity professionals and women account for only 24% of the workforce. GCF's research, Empowering Women to Work in Cybersecurity is a Win-Win, has also found that 22% of female STEM students could be drawn to a career in cybersecurity if provided with sufficient information and training, but a lack of female mentors and sponsors remains a key barrier to entry. Under the 'Empowering Women to Leadership in Cyber' program announced today, USTTI, GCF, and partners from industry, civil society, and academia will deliver high-impact in-person global training programs for emerging female leaders in cybersecurity from across the world. The sessions will be held in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. These efforts will contribute to fostering a culture of cybersecurity while building a supportive community of professionals who inspire more women to enter the sector. The 'Empowering Women to Leadership in Cyber' program supports the objectives of the Women Empowerment in Cybersecurity (WEC) initiative, instated by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which seeks to strengthen global cyber resilience, addressing the shortage of cybersecurity professionals worldwide through efforts to empower more women in the sector. "Our partnership with GCF aims to empower talented female professionals in advancing their careers and driving innovation in cybersecurity leadership roles. Through our world-class training, participants will gain the skills and expertise to advance their careers and inspire the next generation of cybersecurity professionals,' said Jim O'Connor, Chairman and CEO of USTTI. 'We welcome this global partnership, uniting GCF with USTTI to advance women's leadership in cybersecurity, foster cross-border knowledge sharing, and increase cyber resilience worldwide. Empowering women's leadership in cyber is essential to addressing the global cybersecurity workforce shortage—where women remain significantly underrepresented—and to strengthening cyber resilience for all,' commented Alaa M. Alfaadhel, Head of Program and Initiatives at GCF. About USTTI The USTTI is a nonprofit, government-industry joint venture designed to meet the ICT training needs of the women and men who design, regulate and oversee the communications infrastructures of the world. Since 1982, the USTTI has graduated over 10,000 communications officials, regulators and entrepreneurs from 177 developing countries including all 54 in Africa. About GCF The Global Cybersecurity Forum (GCF) is a global, non-profit organization that seeks to strengthen global cyber resilience by advancing international collaboration, purposeful dialogue, and impactful initiatives. It serves as a platform where the world's cybersecurity stakeholders exchange knowledge and collaborate in tackling critical issues regarding Cyberspace. By uniting decision makers and thought leaders from around the world, GCF aligns with international efforts to build a more secure Cyberspace that enables prosperity for all nations and communities.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Ohio Task Force 1 continues rescue mission in KY as severe weather persists
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As Kentucky continues to recover from intense flooding over the weekend, Ohio Task Force 1 continues their mission to help our neighbors to the south. Ohio Task Force 1 is currently deployed to Martin County, Kentucky where they continued their search and rescue efforts across Kentucky and West Virginia border Tuesday. How to help with Kentucky flood recovery efforts The team of 47 spent the day around the state border continuing evacuations of residents in the remote towns of the Appalachian Mountains, where they continue to battle the floodwaters in their efforts to get people out of harm's way. 'Water, especially when it's moving fast as it does in these floods, is dangerous,' said Jim O'Connor, OTF1 task force leader. 'The water, the power is amazing. It can push our boats, so we have to be very careful about how we operate.' The death toll has now risen to 14 people, and there are still more that need to be evacuated. O'Connor says most residents are relieved when they see Ohio Task Force 1 arrive. 'Most people are happy to see us. There's always the question of, okay, do I want to leave my house? Because I want to be in my house. But the conditions aren't favorable here, so I need to go for other reasons,' said O'Connor. 'I think there's some relief to get out to solve the problems. Some people do choose to stay.' The one constant challenge they have had, has been communication, since they are in such a remote area. 'It's a challenge to communicate,' said O'Connor. 'We're prepared to work in these environments, so we have been using a lot of satellite communications here. We bring our own radio systems that we're able to communicate with and those help up us in these areas.' The weather won't help the rescue efforts, as most of Kentucky is under a Winter Storm Warning, with up to a half a foot of snow expected tomorrow, and wind chills in the single digits. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
