Jim O’Connor turned his own experience in recovery into the Second Story Foundation, which he founded in 2022. Today, he is developing the 68-acre Second Story Ranch in Crete, Illinois, a long-term recovery housing and workforce program that secured a $2 million state investment in 2026. (credit: Second Story Foundation)

Jim O’Connor, Founder of Second Story Foundation, Is Building a New Model for Long-Term Recovery

Focused on the gap between treatment and long-term recovery, his model emphasizes structure, work, and continuity of care.

04/15/2026

Jim O’Connor works at the intersection of recovery, housing and workforce reintegration. He is the founder and executive director of the Second Story Foundation, an Illinois nonprofit developing long-term recovery infrastructure designed to help men move from addiction, housing instability and chronic unemployment toward stable work and independent living.

O’Connor entered recovery in 2016 after a period of homelessness and severe alcoholism. That experience continues to shape his approach. He focuses on the period after treatment, when many people leave structured care without stable housing, employment or the support needed to sustain recovery.

"Recovery does not hold without structure, housing, and a path back to work."
-Jim O’Connor, Founder and Executive Director, The Second Story Foundation

O’Connor founded the Second Story Foundation in 2022 and has since developed the 2nd Story Ranch Recovery Home and Jobs Program on a 68-acre working horse farm in Crete, Illinois. The organization raised more than $1 million in private funding to acquire the property and has completed zoning, design and pre-construction work for a residential recovery campus.

In 2026, the Ranch secured a $2 million investment through the Illinois state budget to support recovery housing and related infrastructure. The investment moved the project closer to construction and followed years of engagement with state and local officials around recovery housing, workforce development and the use of public resources to create pathways to long-term independence.

The Ranch combines structured recovery housing, workforce participation, peer support and daily accountability. Residents will participate in practical work across agriculture, equine care, equipment operation, land management, landscaping, maintenance and other ranch operations while developing work history and employment skills. As residents stabilize, the model is designed to move them toward outside employment, market-rate housing and long-term economic self-sufficiency.

That workforce model is already taking shape. The Second Story Foundation has partnered with the Recovery Community Center of Joliet to provide paid work opportunities at the Ranch for people in recovery while the residential campus is being developed.

The economic case extends beyond the individual participants. An independent analysis by the Fletcher Group projects that the Ranch could generate approximately $113 million in net economic benefits over 15 years, including reduced health care and criminal justice costs, increased productivity and reduced premature mortality and morbidity. Under the baseline model, the projected return is $9.25 for every dollar invested.

O’Connor has also become an increasingly active voice on recovery policy and the infrastructure needed after treatment. He has testified before Illinois policymakers and engaged state officials on recovery housing, workforce development and opioid settlement spending. His work emphasizes a practical question facing recovery systems across the country: What happens after someone completes treatment but still has no home, job or stable environment in which to recover?

"The highest risk point in recovery is after treatment, when people leave without housing, work, or support."
-Jim O’Connor, Founder and Executive Director, The Second Story Foundation

t the federal level, O’Connor has met with senior officials at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including senior staff in the Office of the Secretary, to discuss community-based recovery models and long-term recovery infrastructure.

At the state level, he has provided testimony on substance use disorder, recovery housing, workforce policy and the deployment of opioid settlement funds. He has worked with elected officials from across Illinois as the Second Story Foundation has advanced the Ranch from concept through land acquisition, zoning, design, funding and toward construction.

O’Connor is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and serves as executive director of the Second Story Foundation. He is also vice president of the board for the Recovery Community Center of Joliet. Prior to launching Second Story, he worked with Guildhaus and at Hephzibah Children’s Association in Oak Park, supporting programs serving children and families in crisis.

His work and the development of the 2nd Story Ranch have been featured by WGN, Fox 32 Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, Daily Southtown and Crain’s Chicago Business. He was also named to the Nominating Committee of the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, where he contributes to governance and leadership development for one of the country’s leading behavioral health organizations.

Thought Leadership

Jim O’Connor continues to shape the conversation around long-term recovery, housing, and community-based care through his writing and public speaking. His essays, position papers, and appearances draw on both lived experience and professional insight.

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Jim can speak to questions including:

What happens to people after they complete 28 or 30 days of addiction treatment?
Why do housing and employment matter to long-term recovery?
How can recovery programs help people return to the workforce?
What should states be doing with opioid settlement dollars?
Why do people cycle through treatment, homelessness and emergency services?
What does it take to move someone from public assistance toward economic independence?
What can employers do to create pathways back to work for people in recovery?