A new center for substance abuse treatment is slated to open in Champaign this December. The Center for Recovery, located at 2302 Moreland Blvd., will be operated by Rosecrance, a mental health and substance abuse treatment system with facilities across the state.

It’s been two years since cuts in government funding forced the shutdown of the emergency men’s shelter at the TIMES Center in Champaign. A transitional housing program at the facility ended last month for the same reason. But a partnership between the building’s owner and another local non-profit group could bring the men’s shelter program back to life.

In recent years, county jails across the nation have taken steps to try to keep inmates with mental illness from cycling in and out of jail. One approach involves stepped up mental health screening, coupled with efforts to get inmates plugged into community-based treatment after they are released.

Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says he’s not seeing enough statewide progress in addressing the opioid addiction crisis. 

Prairie Center and Rosecrance hope to merge by January 1, 2018