Healthy People. Healthy Choices. Healthy Lake County.
Williams Consent Decree Program
William Paolella has a favorite destination in his life.
On a daily basis he walks to the Recovery Center in
Waukegan, where he can see his friends and engage
in social activities.
He has such a sunny disposition, it is hard to
imagine that in a dark period of his life, Paolella
attempted suicide several times and underwent
psychiatric hospitalization. Like many clients of
the Williams Consent Decree program, he lived
for numerous years in a mental health institution.
His daily life was structured; he followed a strict
schedule from taking showers to eating meals to
taking medications. The confinement and lack of
privacy caused him to continually dream of escape.
After a decade of living in this controlled environment, Paolella learned about the Williams Consent Decree
program at the health department. The program provides individuals living in state-funded mental health
institutions a chance to live independently with professional support. Clients receive daily case management
to help reintegrate them into the community and improve their independent living skills.
With the help of program staff, Paolella moved into an apartment and began visiting the program’s Recovery
Center on a daily basis. Consumer run, the Center is designed to provide a nonclinical environment for
individuals to socialize, receive support fr