• Supervised, therapeutic group-home living for young men and women ages 17-1/2 to 21
• Shared apartments for more advanced clients ages 18 to 60+
• Individual and group counseling and therapy
• Group recreational activities and team-building exercises
• Supportive employment
• Information and referrals

The Larkin Center’s Adult Programs are comprised of the Transitional Living Program (TLP) and the Transitional Skills Center (TSC), both which serve men and women who have a diagnosis of a chronic mental illness or a severe emotional disturbance. The mission of TLP and TSC is to empower these adults to become financially, socially, emotionally and mentally independent and to assist them in realizing their potential as individuals. The program receives 50% of its referrals from hospitals and has proven to be effective through its achievement of a 95% retention rate. Clients increase self-sufficiency and show fewer symptoms of mental illness through employment, and continuing education. Clients also learn to navigate the mental health system and manage their medications.

Clients are referred to the program through the Elgin Mental Health Center, the Ecker Center for Mental Health, the McHenry County Mental Health Board, Metro Suburban Network, private hospitals, homeless shelters, self-referrals and other treatment facilities. The adult program received a $372,000 HUD grant in 2003 to provide permanent housing for 16 additional mentally ill adults. Larkin will provide apartments, purchase another residential building and hire more staff under the HUD agreement.

Transitional Living Program (TLP)
The Larkin Center’s Transitional Living Program assists mentally ill adults in becoming self-sufficient within local communities. The purpose is to work with these adults who otherwise might receive no guidance, and help them to explore their values and to develop coping skills that will serve them for life.

This program addresses the following needs/problems:

• To have access to a 24-hour care facility which will provide support while encouraging the development of independent living skills;
• To have accessible shared apartments with minimal supervision for adults eighteen years and older;
• To learn job readiness, budgeting and other life skills;
• To be able to participate in a specialized program that teaches independent living skills to older adults who are adapting to life outside of an institution.

The goal of the Transitional Living program is to increase our consumers’ ability to develop living skills in order to become more economically, emotionally, socially and behaviorally self-supporting. While in the program, consumers live in apartments provided by The Larkin Center. Consumers in the program are at risk of having repeated psychiatric crises and/or at risk of becoming dependent on the welfare system. The program focuses on teaching coping skills to avoid such crises. Consumers receive individual and group counseling, case management services, and life skills training, including but not limited to, money management and budgeting. Decision-making, interpersonal skills and job readiness skills are taught in a group setting. As consumers become more fiscally and emotionally healthy, they take on additional responsibilities for their daily living.

Transitional Skills Center (TSC)
The Larkin Center’s Transitional Skills Center serves adults with mental disabilities between the ages of seventeen and twenty-one who are transitioning out of school and into society. The purpose is to assist these young adults with becoming independent as they transition into adulthood and into the community.