New Directions Sober Living

About New Directions Sober Living

New Directions Sober Living is a recovery housing provider in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with three sober living homes.

The Nonprofit Behind the Homes

New Directions Sober Living is the housing arm of New Directions Addiction Recovery Services, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose stated mission is to inspire recovery, foster community and save lives. Administrative offices are at 500 Coventry Lane, Suite 270 in Crystal Lake.

Three New Directions Sober Homes in Crystal Lake

The operator runs the Ellsworth Home at 131 Ellsworth Street for men, the Tile Line Home for men, and the Lincoln Home at 171 Lincoln Parkway for women. The Lincoln Parkway house was built in 1901, bought with a donation from the Foglia Family Foundation and remodeled over the course of a year.

Case Management as the Product

New Directions attaches case managers to its housing. They help residents build a resume, reclaim a lost driver's license and pay off outstanding court fees. The homes are described as giving residents a safe and stable living environment plus services that help them integrate back into the community and further develop themselves in meaningful ways.

More Than Housing in McHenry County

New Directions runs five initiatives in all. The Other Side is a Crystal Lake sober bar with pool tables, music, televised sport and nonalcoholic drinks, hosting seminars, group meetings and monthly events. Connect To Recovery is a call tree that puts people in touch with members of the recovery community for peer support at any hour. A Way Out offers substance abuse assessment around the clock to anyone in McHenry County who wishes to seek recovery, and states that nobody is turned away for lack of insurance or financial resources.

Step-Down Options Beyond Crystal Lake

The New Directions Retreat at 14411 Kishwaukee Valley Road in Woodstock is a residential recovery program for men and women, described by the operator as a transition point for those reacclimating to daily sober life. In November 2025 the organization announced three-quarter apartments on a vacant lot at Borden and Jackson streets in Woodstock.

Working With Other McHenry County Providers

When fire destroyed the Last Chance House at Route 176 and Second Street in Crystal Lake, New Directions Addiction Recovery Service moved some of that organization's residents into its own sober living homes.