In honor of National Recovery Month, Jeremy Klemanski, CEO and president of Alpharus Health, formerly known as Gateway Foundation, joins Community Voices to discuss the organization’s recent rebrand, why the name changed, and what the new name represents. Klemanski also discusses Alpharus Health’s residential and outpatient treatment options, including a program designed for working professionals, and how treatment plans are tailored to each person’s needs. He shares what he wants people to understand about substance use disorder and recovery, the importance of meeting people where they are, and why there is help and hope for those who are struggling. He also highlights recovery resources, community partnerships, and ways people can support organizations working in the field.
Melissa Snider:
Welcome to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Melissa Snider, in the studio with Jeremy Klemanski, the CEO and president of Alpharus Health, formerly known as Gateway Foundation. Jeremy, thanks for being here today.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Thanks for having me. I appreciate being here.
Melissa Snider:
Great to have you. In honor of National Recovery Month, I brought Jeremy in to tell us about the rebrand and the name change from Gateway Foundation to Alpharus Health. We're also going to talk about the services and resources Alpharus Health has to offer. Before we get into all that, Jeremy, can you give us some background information on the organization?
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, happy to. So Alpharus Health, formerly Gateway Foundation, was founded almost 60 years ago in the west south side of Chicago to initially serve that community. And over the decades, because of our excellent outcomes and expertise in treating substance use and co-occurring mental health conditions, We were asked to go into other communities in other parts of the state of Illinois, but also in other states in the country. And so what started in Chicago has grown to serving 8 states and growing from there.
Melissa Snider:
That's pretty big. I didn't know you were in eight states.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yes, yeah, we have a growing footprint that it's a little sneaky to some people because we're so focused on what we do in each community and just that's what we want to focus on in that community. that sometimes when people pull back and see the larger picture, they're a little surprised.
Melissa Snider:
Yeah. Hey, there's always a need for it.
Jeremy Klemanski:
There is, unfortunately.
Melissa Snider:
Definitely. So you have two locations here in Springfield. You have a residential and an outpatient facility.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, so in Springfield, the two programs are right next to each other. It's like a little campus, but they are separate buildings and addresses. And in Springfield, we have a residential treatment program, which is for men and women who have substance use disorders and some may have co-occurring mental health conditions, but not everyone. And then the outpatient program is for folks with substance use disorders and for folks with co-occurring mental health, but also in recent times you don't have to have a substance use diagnosis anymore to be treated in our outpatient program.
Melissa Snider:
So what determines being treated in the inpatient versus outpatient?
Jeremy Klemanski:
So just like any other health condition, everybody gets clinical and medical assessment. That assessment gives us a picture of what the patient's needs are. Some patients have a more significant experience with substance and with mental health conditions. Some have less. So depending on the severity of the symptoms and then also some of the supports. So for example, maybe you don't have housing, maybe you haven't been eating well, maybe you have some other health risks that make your treatment more complicated, then you are more likely to need a residential treatment setting. But the clinical piece of that is more about how much you've struggled in your addiction or dependency. So somebody who's earlier on or is had a little bit of success with abstinence and recovery periods. They might be more successful in an outpatient setting, so they might not need a residential treatment setting. But some folks need residential treatment just frankly to help them stabilize, to get their medical baseline where it needs to be. And it's not just treating the addiction. Sometimes we're helping them manage other chronic health conditions that are complicated by the addiction and mental health condition. And they need to live in a structured environment where there's nursing and doctors and counselors to help all of those things come together and us just to try to get things to a stable place where they could effectively participate in outpatient and get what they need from it.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely. So you also have a program designed for working professionals.
Jeremy Klemanski:
We do. And that's one of the unique offerings at the residential treatment center in Springfield. And that was really born out of a realization that different folks have different needs. So for example, we have some folks who are still working, still running their business or helping run a business, and they need to be able to receive a FedEx package to sign a contract. They need to have some time each day to use the computer to log in and do different things. they might need to take a Zoom meeting or a Teams meeting during the day. And so we have a program that is structured for them that has some flexibility for that. So there's some flexibility in the schedule, but it also recognizes that the pressures that they're facing are a little bit different than some of us. Some folks maybe have lost their employment or are struggling to maintain it. In their case, they might be struggling to keep a business going that might employ hundreds of people or even thousands of people. So the pressures that they're feeling are, they're not more real, but they're just different than somebody else. And so we have a program that really tries to help recognize that and help figure out how do we effectively do that. Maybe they need to have a visitor to have them sign some papers or something, whereas in other parts of treatment, visiting times are structured differently, for example. There's just a whole bunch of things that you have to think about when you're trying to recognize what the needs of a different population are.
Melissa Snider:
Do you provide that at your other facilities too?
Jeremy Klemanski:
No, we have different specialty tracks at different facilities. And it really has to do with a combination of what that community needs or what we're seeing in the region. And then sometimes it's a factor of what was the expertise of the staff that developed the program in the region. So we have places where there's specialty programming that might be more focused on the needs of women in recovery. We have specialty programming in places that just might recognize what the need of somebody working in the helping field's needs. So for example, working with nurses and doctors, that can be a whole specialty track as well. It just really depends on what the population's needs are. One of the things I will say to you though is that with outpatient care especially, your treatment is really customized to what you need more than decades ago. Decades ago, programs were more standardized and now they're standardized around evidence-based counseling practices like the techniques we use in talk therapy. They're standardized around the medications that we know are effective that patients can choose or choose not to take. The programming path is more about how do we support the person and what's unique to their housing needs, their employment needs, their family structure. And so those things tend to change from region to region.
Melissa Snider:
If somebody comes in, they're seeking a service, you come up with a plan. You got it. And then tailor their needs.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, we do an assessment of every person, regardless of what level of care they end up in. and then each person has an individualized treatment or recovery plan. The goals are different for different people. There are people who their goal might be to reduce the amount of substances they're using to be healthier. There are other people who need to and want to completely not use substances anymore. And so the plan is a little different for those groups. While we may want something for a person, I tell people it's a lot like other chronic health conditions. We may be treating person with diabetes, but we don't refuse to treat them if they continue to eat foods that aren't good for them and not manage their diabetes as well as they should. But our treatment plan might look different than it is for somebody who is going to completely follow all of our recommendations and best practices. And we do that because we have to meet people where they are. the first goal is to keep people alive, candidly. The second goal is to help them find a healthier life. And then there's this other opportunity for what does optimal health look like for them? And that's not the same thing for every person. What I'm capable of doing and willing to do is different than where somebody else might be today. And I have to recognize that when I'm working with a person. Otherwise we run the risk of, and this is what used to happen honestly in programs. decades ago, it was more of a like, this is the program and you have to follow this. And if you don't follow this, then you're out. Well, what did that mean? Well, for some people, that meant they didn't get better. And for some people, it probably meant that we lost them. And our sector of healthcare has come a long way to embracing the chronic and progressive nature of substance use disorders and understanding the disease model and understanding that we have to treat people wherever they are and to try to help them get to a healthier place as opposed to imposing what we might want for their healthiest state to be upon them as a requirement for treatment. So that's kind of the big shift that's happened in the last, I would say decade or two in our sector.
Melissa Snider:
I really love that, meeting people where they're at.
Jeremy Klemanski:
And there's a thing that happens when we are willing to do that, as a person gets healthier, they're able to see the benefit of maybe going the other step and getting even healthier by taking some other recommendations. Trust has been built. It's kind of like if you're on a journey to lose weight. If you said to a person, I have a lot of weight to lose. Well, it could be frustrating if after a month or two, you've only had a modest amount of progress. Or maybe for some person, it's just to stop gaining weight. Well, each person's path is going to be different, but as we start to have progress, we start to build confidence. We start to build positive momentum. We start to build, we talk about the therapeutic alliance between the patient and the clinician and the nurses and the doctors. That happens if we're working together. If we don't allow that space to happen, we don't really get a chance for those next milestones to be hit.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely. So Gateway Foundation recently became Alpharus Health.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yes.
Melissa Snider:
So what prompted that change and what does the new rebrand represent?
Jeremy Klemanski:
So the change was prompted by taking a real look at the organization a couple of years ago. Our leadership team and our board and our supporters and our staff, We said, we have this really awesome organization in terms of clinical outcomes, the legacy of service to the communities we're in and have some we've been in for a long time, others more recently. But there's a problem. And the problem is in some communities, we can't call ourselves Gateway Foundation because there might already be a gateway in that state or in that community as we've grown into other places. And when you think about the importance of a culture, one of the things about a culture is being on the same team. Imagine being on the same team, but the offense wore a jersey with one name and the special teams wore a jersey with another name and the defense wore a jersey with another name. It's confusing to people. And so we said, you know, that's a problem. It's also a problem when we just think about doing community outreach. For example, in Missouri, we called ourselves something different. In Texas, we used a version of our name. in California, we had a totally different name. Depending on where we were, we had different names. If we were in some states, we couldn't even use a variation of the name because of what's already protected in those places. So we said, okay, we need something where this is a really amazing team. We need to put the same jersey on everybody here. And so that was the first piece. And the second piece was doing research to find out what did our organization mean to our constituency. So when we say our constituencies, we mean people we serve, they're very, very important, but also the people doing the work are very important. So our staff, and then of course our donors, our funders, our regulators, our insurance partners, so everyone from government to donors to staff to patients, we had to find out what they meant. So we worked with a group to help that process unfold. We did some focus groups and we got a really good picture of what we meant to people. Both good and in some cases things that we thought, hey, we could work on that a little bit. And one of the things that was really clear to us from people's feedback was the foundation name was confusing. They're like, so you're not really a funder, You're the ones that need help to serve more people. We're like, yes. And they're like, okay, because when I hear foundation, I think a group that gives money or supports making change happen in the community, because that's what a lot of foundations do. So that was the one piece. And then what we also heard from people was they had a really positive experience with Gateway, but they didn't understand necessarily what Gateway meant. And they also didn't, in terms of our services, what we offer for people, and then there was also a little bit of negative. There's a term called a gateway drug. And we heard that from people, that might have a negative kind of subconscious effect on some people. And so we said, okay, We really need to identify something. So we took all the feedback from the groups that we worked with and we identified the things that were really important to them. And they talked about us showing them a new way. They talked about us being kind of a light or a bright spot in their life. They talked about newness and discovery. And so we started playing with those concepts. We started playing with words. And candidly, we spent many months in creative processes with some really talented marketing people and some of our own people. And we were struggling because everything we came up with, somebody had already thought of it or it was being used or the word was protected or we couldn't use that word for some legal reason. And one day we were sitting around and we said, okay, let's just start looking at what are these words in other languages. And one of our colleagues, a gentleman named Greg, we were playing with the idea of like being a beacon of light or something like that or a bright spot. And there's a Greek word for that, which is fáros. And so we looked at it and we're like, hey, we started, it's not protected. People aren't using it. Okay, this is interesting here. So we started playing with that. And then we were playing with it a little more and we said, you know, if you put an A in front of it, that's F for us. and now you're going to show up earlier in lists, right? And now it's not just the simple word. We were playing with it and we were liking it and it sounded good rolling off the tongue. We liked the fact there was us in there. So because of the work that we do, we kept hearing from people that it's about all of us together, working together as a community, not just the nurses or the doctors or the counselors or the peers or the law enforcement or the hospital or the county social services folks. It's all of us working together to help people find a healthier life. So we love that us part. We love the light part. So like light for us. I was staring at it and I called our team back after the meeting and said, if you put an L in there, it's Al for us. And if you say it just the right way, it sounds like all for us. And we said that was important because one of the things that we heard from people in our research was, there's a saying in the recovery world, nothing for us without us. And that's about advocacy. It's about funding. It's about the way we design programs. And I said, if we really want to communicate to people that it's all for them, that what we're doing, our work is about the people we serve and the people doing the serving, if we want that to be a guiding principle for our board, for our leadership, all for us really makes sense. And so we did a bunch of research, we did some testing and it worked and we ended up with a new identity.
Melissa Snider:
I love that. That's quite the development.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, I'm really proud of it. Our team worked very hard on it. I'm really inspired by the folks that put so much creative energy into it. And it wasn't, I mean, our marketing people did an amazing job to help bring the brand to life. But, you know, from the patients and staff that participated in focus groups to our donors to our board taking the risk, I mean, a lot of people put a lot in to make this happen and I think it's something we can be proud of and I'm happy we've been able to protect it. I'm happy that the feedback pre-launch was so positive. But even since we're hearing a lot of stories from a lot of people that it really resonates with them and they love the fact that the name now communicates something about our values and what we're all about. That it's all for us. Absolutely. It's all of us together. There's Alpha like a first new light, a new beginning. And so we think it's really positive.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely. Yeah, you were all in it together.
Jeremy Klemanski:
That's right.
Melissa Snider:
Has the rebrand the name change changed anything about your services or all the same?
Jeremy Klemanski:
No, the only thing that's changing with the rebrand is we did update the website to be a little more modern, a little easier to use, put some modern. technologies into it to make it easier for people to find programs, things like that, because we needed to update it. And we said, okay, let's use this as an opportunity to make it better for people. But the rebrand has not changed service delivery anywhere. There is a process going on to change signage out in buildings and improve that. So that is something else we did. We took this opportunity to say, how can we improve the wayfinding signage in our buildings? So we're in different stages in different parts of the state with the installation of signage. There's temporary things in place, but we're also using it as an opportunity to improve the wayfinding signage for folks that might have visual impairments or other things. So we're just improving the color contrast, for example. Some of the ADA compliance pieces, just taking a really hard look at with the rebrand, how do we improve those things so that people have a better experience?
Melissa Snider:
Your Springfield location here is named 4th Best Residential Addiction Treatment Center in Illinois by Newsweek in 2026. And I think two of your other locations made at the top of the list.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, we were proud to claim the number one spot again. and we had a number of programs ranked very highly. If you dig into those, the data that Newsweek and Statistica use to come up with those rankings, it's a combination of factors. Some of it has to do with the completeness of your offerings. Some of it has to do with the, they score feedback and ratings and things they find online through different types of review services that are out there. And they have a whole bunch of other things that they score. Some of it we understand, some of it I think is proprietary. I'm not 100% sure. So we're always proud when one of our facilities makes such a list. To be candid, there's I think a very small separation between one and four, honestly in the rankings. So I'm just proud that our organization is trusted by the community enough to earn positive reviews, and that we have outcomes that are strong enough to be considered for such a list that we think is an honor.
Melissa Snider:
Yeah, making a big impact.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Thanks.
Melissa Snider:
You've been listening to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois on 91.9 UIS. More with Jeremy Klimanski, the CEO and president of Alpharus Help, formerly known as Gateway Foundation, when we return. Welcome back to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois. I'm your co-host, Melissa Snider, continuing conversation with Jeremy Klimanski, the CEO and president of Alpharus Health, formerly known as Gateway Foundation. So you recently collaborated with the Sangamon County, ROSC, and Birth to Five Illinois for the Stronger Together Recovery and Community Fest, September 11th at Tom Madonia Park in Springfield, spreading awareness about substance use disorder.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, the staff that put that together with our partners are very proud of it. It's something extra that they do to help create awareness in the community. The numbers I've seen suggested that the event almost doubled in terms of participation this year. And I've also heard that there were dozens of community agencies and partners that all participated. So we played a small part in being a co-sponsor and some of our staff helped plan and organize a little bit. And I downplay that, but they did great work to make that happen. But that's something we're proud to do in communities where we serve, when we can help spread the word about not only what we do, but what other organizations are doing. It takes all of us. that whole idea that it's all of us is really important to us. We rely on those organizations to refer people to us. We refer on them to serve people in ways that we don't serve. And it's really important that we're collaborative and we're all thinking about what are the needs of the community. And so anytime we can do something like that, it's something we're proud of.
Melissa Snider:
It was a really good opportunity for people to explore the different resources. They had a little bingo card that you could go to each table and get that signed. And then there was a raffle, I think, at the end. That was super cool. You did something at the Illinois State Fair.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Yeah, so we have an expert, Shane, who leads a gambling awareness and treatment initiative. The campaign is called Are You Really Winning? He also has a podcast that you can find where they explore issues related to gambling and issues related to problem gambling. we're not anti-gambling. We're not prohibitionists with alcohol or gambling or anything like that. But for some folks, it becomes a problem. And when it does, we want to make sure people know how to identify that. Also, how to maybe prevent that, honestly, and then if they need help, where they can find it. For some people, this is a healthy leisure activity, and for some people it's not. And we want to be able to kind of know what the difference is and what do we need to do to help when that happens for somebody.
Melissa Snider:
Definitely. What do you want people in Central Illinois to understand about recovery and substance use disorder?
Jeremy Klemanski:
So the really big thing that I want people to know is that number one, if you're struggling, There is help and there is hope. The help is available. Call an organization like ours, call the county health department, call your local human services provider, call your local hospital, call anybody that you trust and say to them, I think I need help. And trust that they're going to help you find it. And if you don't know who to trust, go to alpharus.com. Check us out. We've got resources. And if we aren't the ones to help you, we'll direct you somewhere. We'll say, you know what, we hear what you need. It's probably not what this program does, but here is an organization in our community that we think could help and we'll help connect you. We even have peers that are willing to work with you. Even if you're not coming to our treatment, we'll work with you. We'll still try to help you find what you need because that's just what people should do when someone needs help for anything. The help is there. is help out there. Another thing I want to tell people is don't worry about the money. If you're worried about the insurance or your Medicaid status or your personal resources, call us. We'll figure that piece out. We have some ability to treat people without resources. We do work with the state to help subsidize work for people that don't have adequate insurance. Let us worry about that. If you think you need help, just call, okay? And then you'll get an assessment and professionals work with you to figure out what you do or don't need or would or wouldn't benefit from. And if you do an assessment, it's not gonna hurt you. don't have to accept the recommendations. No one's gonna force you to go get help. But the hope piece is there are a tremendous number of people living amongst us who were once where you are. who once thought it was hopeless, who once were feeling desperate, who once were suffering, and they found a way. And they found a way with the help of other people. And those people want to help you too, if you are willing to just pick up a phone, or maybe you can pick up the phone, send a text or an e-mail to somebody and just say, I need help. That's really hard for us to do sometimes. We're taught a lot of times from a young age to learn how to solve problems, figure it out, take care of yourself, be self-reliant. And our society rewards that type of thinking. And there's real value in that thinking in some aspects of our lives. But there's also parts of our lives where that thinking can undermine us. And this is one of those areas. And what I like to tell people is the part of the brain that helps you make some of these decisions is impaired by the substance use or the mental health condition. So let other people come alongside of you and help. Let other people come along and say, hey, you know what? I can see what's going on here and here's what I think could be helpful to you. And trust that they've been there and they know what they're doing. And you don't have to follow the recommendations, but there's hope because other people have been where you are and you can get to a healthier place.
Melissa Snider:
There is a support system out there. is a community. There's still a lot of stigma around addiction. What do you think people mostly misunderstand about substance use disorder?
Jeremy Klemanski:
Some of it is this idea that people can just stop or that people made a choice to have an addiction. I've never met a person who in one of our programs or on the street or in a shelter or at a hospital that said, I want to lose my job and my family and suffer miserably and have my body being ravaged by the impact of an addictive condition or dependency. I've never met that person. I've met a lot of people who experience a life trauma or a physical trauma or prescribed medication. that started to control their brain chemistry. I've met a lot of people who have experienced substantial life traumas and as a result, when they used a substance, it took them away from the thinking about that. It took them away from the feeling about it. I grew up in an environment where I got to see that happen for somebody. I got to see somebody who was a victim of a severe trauma. And I got to see the progression of them using substances to deal with that, pain, that hidden trauma. And then take a hold of their brain chemistry and their body. And then them try very, very hard to stop and frankly, suffer tremendously physically, emotionally, psychologically. And until they got a proper diagnosis and proper treatment, they weren't able to do it on their own. I think for people to just understand that most of the people that we work with have an origin story that is nothing like what public perception is about using drugs and substance. Unfortunately, for folks who haven't lived that experience, they've seen drugs and alcohol portrayed as like people that are partying and it just goes too far. Things get out of hand. But that's not the biggest part of the story. The biggest part of the story is why is a person using so much substance that it affects their brain's ability to work normally, because that's not a healthy behavior. A perfect example, when we do outreach with people who are homeless, people will say, well, they want to live on the street. Well, let me explain this. A healthy person who wants to live outdoors goes camping and then goes home. A person whose brain isn't functioning right thinks, oh, this is okay to just live totally unsheltered and unprotected in an environment where I can't even defend myself or guarantee I'm going to be able to use the bathroom or whatever with dignity. And so I try to help people think of examples like that and just understand that that's a piece of evidence for you that person's brain isn't functioning the way it ought to. And that's oftentimes a function of the trauma. It's also a function of the substance and the chemical and all the things that are altering a person's brain chemistry in a way that prevents their brain from working the way it would if it was healthy. And so helping people kind of understand that and realize that we need to have a tremendous amount of compassion for people who are suffering. Instead of judging them, we need to be asking ourselves, what would help? And then take a little bit of time, do a little bit of research. People Google everything today, right? And look up everything. Just look up. Google latest science on addiction. Latest science on the brain chemistry changes as a result of trauma and addiction. Look those things up and spend a few minutes taking a dive. Look into what is published by leading health authorities on these subjects. And it becomes pretty clear to you that this is a medical condition and people didn't choose this.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely.
Jeremy Klemanski:
No, I just want to thank you for taking the time to bring awareness to what we're doing. And also, it's Recovery Month, whether it's our organization or another organization. If this is a topic that resonates with you, call and ask if they need volunteers. Call and ask if they could use some donations of time or money or resources. Most of the organizations that do the work that we do have very tight budgets, are very thinly staffed and they could use some help. And maybe you like to garden. Maybe they need somebody to help with the landscape. Maybe you like to bake. Maybe they would love someone to bring some fresh cookies to the residents. Maybe you are a teacher and you want to volunteer to lead a class. Whatever it is, you can help us reach people if this is something that resonates with you. And if it's not and it's something you've maybe historically felt judgmental about, I'll just ask you, take a few minutes and Google what's the latest in brain chemistry and addiction and trauma, and I think you'll find some things that will be very useful to your thinking.
Melissa Snider:
Yeah. So if somebody wants to help or volunteer their time, how can they reach out to you?
Jeremy Klemanski:
So they can go to our website at Alpharus and they'll find links to, we have a volunteer program, but they can also just contact their local treatment program and just ask what they can do. There are recovery-based organizations all over the state that they can also reach out to. If you just Google, recovery organization near me, usually things will come up. And just, if you don't know one, just pick one. Just pick one and call them up and say, what can they do? And you'll probably find a group of people who are working hard to help people that would love some support.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely. So if somebody is seeking some assistance, how can they go about contacting you then?
Jeremy Klemanski:
So if you go to our website, Alpharus Health, you can find links to individual treatment centers. We also have a phone number people can call if they want to talk. We have a call center where you can call, but you can also call most facilities directly. And if you don't have a phone or you don't, you know, the phone part scares you, show up. Just come. Just come knock on the door and we'll do what we can.
Melissa Snider:
Hey, that sounds good. I also wanted to ask you, do you take insurance?
Jeremy Klemanski:
We do. We take all forms of insurance. There are some we're not in network with, but we are in network with all the Medicaid providers in the state and most of the private insurers. And if we don't take your insurance, we can figure something out. Sometimes we can negotiate with your insurance provider or we can figure out a way to do it some other way.
Melissa Snider:
That sounds good. And when are you open? Weekdays, weekends.
Jeremy Klemanski:
The resident treatment center is open 24 hours. They prefer to do admissions during the daytime because it's easier. There's more staff, but we do admissions in the evenings as well. The outpatient center is open Monday through Saturday. We don't tend to do things on Sunday. Sometimes there's a staff person working doing something, but we don't have open hours. Just check the hours are on our website for each location and you can see whatever information you're looking for.
Melissa Snider:
Awesome. That sounds good. Well, Jeremy, thank you so much for coming in today.
Jeremy Klemanski:
Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity.
Melissa Snider:
Absolutely. Once again, Jeremy Klemanski, CEO and president of Alpharus Health, formerly known as Gateway Foundation. Thank you, Jeremy. Thank you. You've been listening to Community Voices, a production of NPR Illinois on 91.9 UIS. Community Voices is events that you might have missed and conversations with neighbors, artists, and area businesspeople. Suggest a guest or comment at communityvoices@nprillinois.org. Get to know your neighbors with Community Voices at noon and 10 p.m. and on demand at nprillinois.org.
NPR Illinois 91.9 and thank you for your support.
