Megan Fenn pointed to the projects that clients have made in Clearbook‘s newest facility, admiring the work done by many of the first-time artists.

There were colored pages, a group poster celebrating the Fourth of July and a cardboard model of a Nike shoe adorned with red rhinestones.

All the pieces were made possible by the newest Clearbrook Day Program Center, which opened in Rolling Meadows earlier this year. The art studio is one of many amenities offered at the facility, which provides daily activities and training for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Part of Clearbrook’s ambitious long-term goals, the Hicks Road location is the first of three centers in its expansion plans. Clearbrook also opened a 1,600-square-foot mental health center in Lake County earlier this year.

The Rolling Meadows facility opened in May, but officials held an open house for the community last week to show how critical the programs have become for its participants. With smaller spaces that allow for more personalized attention, clients have thrived, Fenn said.

She recalled a woman who was especially eager to paint, and another who kept asking when she could read again — something the client did in Braille, aloud and for everyone.

“The clients have been succeeding, 100%,” said Fenn, who has worked at Clearbrook for six years.

Artwork created by Megan Fenn and her clients is displayed at the Clearbrook Day Program Center crafts studio in Rolling Meadows, which opened in May 2025 and recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony. (Paulina Czupryna/Chicago Tribune)

Serving more than 8,000 clients in Illinois, Clearbrook designed the Rolling Meadows center to foster greater independence among users, said President and CEO Jessica Smart. Clients, for example, do not have a set lunchtime. Instead, they bring their food to the facility, place it in the refrigerator and eat when they get hungry.

The center’s gym, meditation room and tech hub help connect peers to a personalized community, providing them with everyday and employment skills, according to Smart. The Clearbrook network covers a range of care, including child, adult and residential services, Smart said.

The new community centers are “the last piece of our mission,” she said.

“We’re transitioning to a model centered around smaller locations and more individualized programming for those we serve,” she said. “In this new model, (clients) learn life skills to foster more independence, form meaningful connections and experience a sense of belonging — something many of us may often take for granted,” she said.

Exercise equipment, kitchen space and laundry machines are also available at the new day center.

“If (a client) wants to go to the gym, they should be able to go to the gym. If they want to do their laundry, they should be able to do that,” Smart said.

For those with more significant needs, the Hicks facility also has specialized assistance for clients with mobility needs. About seven people, according to Smart, use the accessible room.

Before the Rolling Meadows center opened, some of its clients attended a facility in nearby Palatine known as Clearbrook’s Getz building. Getz is currently operating as a day center, but it will likely be sold after completion of the three sites, organization officials said.

“Now that we have smaller spaces, we can then feature (personalized care) a little bit more,” said Dakota Shultz, who’s on Clearbrook’s media relations team.

The Getz facility, which has a warehouse-type design, was “limited” in rooms and additional learning materials. As a result, client enthusiasm for the facility had been “slowing down,” Fenn said.

The Getz building can serve 150 clients, according to Shultz, and the Rolling Meadows facility can host about 40. The difference between the two centers is “night and day,” he said.

“You go to a facility like this every day, and you feel like this is where I belong,” said Shultz.

Fenn agrees.

“Here, you can just see their eyes open,” Fenn said.

Although every room serves a specific purpose, some attract more clients than others.

“Ever since the computer lab opened, they will not leave that room,” Fenn said.

And according to Smart, the tech hub already has requests for additional adaptive video game controllers.

In the facility’s Vocational Simulation Lab, Smart pointed to a rack with clothes on hangers in the room’s corner. With supplies that support integrative learning, such as fake money and gardening materials, clients can practice hanging clothes, count bills and take care of plants.

“We provide a full array of what somebody would need in their life,” she said.

Apart from its community-based programming, Clearbrook’s new facilities focus on how residents feel, Shultz said.

At Hicks, clients can hold “a feeling of place,” he said.

“To feel like this is where I belong,” said Shultz.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/26/clearbrook-day-center-rolling-meadows/