Jim O’Connor founded Second Story Foundation after entering recovery in 2016, opening two homes by 2023 and launching the 68-acre Second Story Ranch in 2024. (credit: Second Story Foundation)

Meet Jim O’Connor, Founder and Executive Director of Second Story Foundation

From his own recovery to leading one of Illinois’ most hopeful new programs, Jim O’Connor is helping men rebuild their lives with work, compassion, and community.

October 10, 2025

Jim O’Connor understands what it means to begin again. Nearly a decade ago, he was homeless and struggling with severe alcoholism. His future looked uncertain. Entering recovery in 2016 became the turning point that reshaped his life and purpose.

Through that experience, O’Connor discovered that lasting recovery grows through structure, work, and love put into action. He found these elements on a farm, where steady labor and reflection rebuilt his sense of self. "The work-based program was transformational," he said. "The amount of love I received from people in the recovery community changed everything."

"When someone enters our program, the first thing we tell them is, ‘Welcome home. We love you.’ For many of them, those words change everything."

-Jim O’Connor, Founder and Executive Director, The Second Story Foundation

That transformation guided him toward helping others. With a degree in addiction studies and certification as an alcohol and drug counselor, O'Connor began restoring two suburban homes into recovery residences. By 2025, he raised $1 million in private funding to purchase a 68-acre horse farm in Crete, Illinois. The property became The Second Story Ranch, a long-term recovery and jobs program where men rebuilding their lives after substance use disorder work with the land and care for horses while receiving counseling, financial education, and job-readiness training. "When someone enters our program, the first thing we tell them is, 'Welcome home. We love you,'" O’Connor said. "For many of them, that is the first time they have heard those words in years."

Today, O’Connor is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC), the founder and executive director of Second Story Foundation, and vice president of the board for the Recovery Community Center of Joliet. In addition to leading the Foundation’s daily operations, he continues to mentor others in recovery, strengthen community partnerships, and advance long-term care models that connect housing, work, and healing. Before launching Second Story, he worked with The Guildhaus, a renowned, high support 3.1 Residential Treatment Home

He has met privately with senior officials at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to discuss community-based approaches to long-term recovery and workforce reintegration. He has also met with policy advocates and lobbyists and has advised Illinois state legislators on substance use disorder, recovery housing, and workforce policy.

He has been featured by WGN, Fox 32 Chicago, and the Chicago Tribune for his leadership in developing community-based recovery programs across the Chicago area. He frequently participates in conferences and community discussions on long-term recovery, housing, and workforce development.

Thought Leadership

Jim O’Connor continues to shape the conversation around long-term recovery, housing, and community-based care through his writing and public speaking. His essays, position papers, and panel appearances draw on both lived experience and professional insight.

A Case for Sobriety: National policy needs a recovery strategy that matches today’s addiction crisis

Jim O’Connor argues that while harm reduction strategies save lives, they often fail to promote long-term recovery. He calls for renewed investment in abstinence-based housing and programs that support purpose, dignity, and stability. Sobriety, he contends, should remain the foundation for lasting reintegration and healing. Read the full article.

Executive function should be part of the nation’s recovery strategy

Jim O'Connor identifies how Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) scores and chronic substance use degrade executive functioning, weakening decision-making, emotional regulation, and long-term planning. Without targeted recovery support, these impairments reinforce relapse and public system dependency. Recovery programs must rebuild executive function alongside achieving sobriety. Read the full article.