Veteran Support Center Coming To Former Silver Cross Campus In Joliet

(The following edited press release is from Mike Theodore, Director of Communications, Will County Executive Office.)

JOLIET - Will County leaders and the Will County Veterans Assistance Commission have announced a collaboration to create a unified Veteran Assistance and Support Center in Joliet. The center will occupy an existing county building at 1300 Copperfield Avenue and would be at the heart of a centralized campus for Will County veterans.

“We are grateful to the VAC for expanding their footprint on the previous Silver Cross Campus as they continue to better serve our veteran population in the region,” said Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy in Thursday's press release.

Will County acquired the medical office building at 1300 Copperfield Avenue in 2021. It was constructed in 2003 and was previously connected to the former Silver Cross Hospital. The county has budgeted funds to retrofit the building’s 72,000 square feet to meet the needs of the VAC and other veteran organizations. Construction is estimated to be completed in early 2026.

“Ensuring that veterans and their families have immediate access to services and resources is a top priority of county government,” said Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant. “This move will be transformational for the VAC and other organizations, creating a single location at the heart of the county for the local veteran community to access their services. I look forward to working with the VAC staff to make this a reality.”

According to Will County government, the goal of the project is to house the VAC and other veteran organizations at the county-owned office building, creating a unified “one-stop shop” for veteran services. The VAC would use the expanded footprint to expand existing services, including case management, mental health services, and their physical health program.

The VAC will occupy at least the first two floors of the four-story office building, with the other space reserved for veteran-focused outside agencies. The expanded space would allow the VAC to hire more veteran service officers, reduce appointment wait times, and expand programmatic offerings.

VAC services include financial assistance, employment assistance, combat veteran counseling, and a homeless veteran prevention program. VAC also coordinates with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on case management, and is the only commission of its kind in the state to include in-house staff from the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs.

The new center would join both the Hines VA’s Joliet Community Based Outpatient Clinic and the Volunteers of America Illinois’ Hope Manor Housing at a new unified Veteran Support Campus on the east side of Joliet. This unified campus will make it easier for veterans and their families to access wrap-around services.