Mutual Ground and Breaking Free, longtime social service pillars in Aurora, merge to offer 'more holistic' approach to healing
By Denise Crosby
Aurora Beacon-News |
From left, Mutual Ground Board President Andi Danis and Executive Director Michelle Meyer pose with retiring Breaking Free Executive Diretor Teddi Krochman and Board President Cindy Heibel on Friday after signing paperwork bringing the two longtime social service agencies together. (Mutual Ground / HANDOUT)
It was not exactly breakfast as usual.
When Michelle Meyer was asked by Teddi Krochman to join her for an early-morning meal at Harner's restaurant last February, Meyer figured the get-together would be a typical chat between these executive directors of two social service pillars here in Aurora.
But as they broke bread and sipped coffee, Krochman, who has been at the helm of Breaking Free for the past few years, had a proposal for Mutual Ground's leader.
What would she think about the two groups merging?
As executive director of Aurora's 44-year-old domestic violence shelter, Meyer was, to say the least, "surprised" about this proposal to unite with Breaking Free, which was founded in 1977 to help those abusing drugs and alcohol – and their families – break the hold addictions had on their lives.
Do the math: Together these two groups have 86 years of service to the community.
But the idea of combining all that experience made perfect sense.
Mutual Ground may be all about addressing domestic and sexual violence in our community, but more than ever, Meyer noted, so much of what she and her staff see coming through their doors are issues involving drug and alcohol abuse.
Which meant "we were always referring clients to Breaking Free."
Research does indeed show many complex intersections between substance use issues and domestic violence/sexual assault trauma. Still, it was a big deal when Meyer took Krochman's proposition to her 17-member board, and they agreed – because there's so much overlap between the two agencies, and because costs could be greatly reduced by having just one administration – to move forward with the idea.
On Friday, it became official when paperwork was signed combining the two agencies, with plans for a full merger in July of next year.
The timing, however, was not exactly perfect for Mutual Ground.
The organization is looking to expand its domestic violence shelter, already at 100% capacity, by moving its administrative offices into the former Todd Early Learning Center, which was given to the nonprofit by the city but will need to be repaired and renovated.
So that February breakfast really did put a lot more on the plate of the Mutual Ground staff.
Still, if anyone is up for the task it's Meyer, who has so ably filled the shoes of her ground-breaking predecessor, Linda Healy, whose 25 years with the shelter included some scary times, like July of 2009 when Mutual Ground was forced to close for two weeks after Springfield slashed human services funding by 50%.
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Breaking Free will indeed be in good hands, says Mike Moran, who was executive director of Breaking Free from 1999 until 2016, which was around the time Springfield's three-year budget impasse threatened so many social service agencies vying for a piece of an ever-shrinking funding pie.
"Michele has done such a great job, and both groups have such a long history," added Moran, who is now an assistant professor in substance abuse education at Waubonsee Community College.
"Even back when I was there, we were having these conversations about our feasibility to survive, and we'd come up with ideas on how to forge relationships or mergers."
But combining efforts often does not come to fruition because there's such pride in ownership of these nonprofits, most of which are created out of personal experiences and individual beliefs.
Blending the brands, finding roles for senior staff and getting boards aligned was easier in this case because Krochman wanted to retire – as of Monday, she's helping only as a consultant – and many on the Breaking Free board were also at the end of long service careers.
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And this merger between two groups that already have a solid reputation in the community, including collaboration with schools, law enforcement and other human service agencies, will enable them to achieve a "more holistic" healing approach, noted Meyer.
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When I caught up with her on Monday she was at the Breaking Free office on Gale Street, where she will spend the majority of her schedule these next few months.
The Mutual Ground staff has already had training on the anti-overdose drug Narcan and there will be more cross training as the two groups work toward a full merger in July of 2020 when the Breaking Free name will be dropped, she told me.
"This merger strengthens our collective ability to help people heal when they are facing overwhelming challenges," said Meyer. "I'm really looking forward to this next chapter in the history of Mutual Ground."
dcrosby@tribpub.com