The Office of Student Mental Health & Wellness Located in Room C-2019

Joliet Junior College offers all registered students access to a range of mental health and wellness support care. There are no charges for these services or visits.

To learn more about all of our services or support, encourage your student to call or stop by with any questions or concerns. Once students learn how easy and comfortable it is to access our services, students are empowered to take charge of their own health and well-being as young adults.

As you may know, the years between 18 and 22 are transformative—and sometimes challenging. We’re here to help your students meet those challenges as they mature into full adulthood. Joliet Junior College provides support to students in addressing mental health and wellness issues and making changes to enhance personal growth, capacity for healthy relationships, and academic engagement. Our staff includes licensed mental health staff, a case manager, and outside contracted agencies. If your own student is hesitant about reaching out to us, let them know that we are here to support our students and care about their well-being.

We provide all of these services to your student (just as any professional caregivers provide) with the promise of confidentiality. Indeed, except in cases of clear emergency, we’re legally prohibited from sharing any information about our confidential conversations with your student unless he or she gives us permission to do so. Within these guidelines, we’re delighted to partner with you in ensuring your student a healthy Joliet Junior College experience. You can call us with any time with questions about our general range of services for all students. You can even call to share concerns and questions about your own student—understanding that we can’t share specific personal information unless your student tells us we can.

We also offer free and anonymous online screening for eating disorders, alcohol misuse, anxiety disorders, and depression. This service is informational only and not a diagnostic tool. The screening is provided to help JJC students determine whether or not consulting with a mental health professional would be helpful.

With the creation of the Care Report, the Student Mental Health & Wellness Program aim to assist students in need with care and compassion. The Care Report allows staff, faculty, students and community members to report students who may need assistance and are experiencing issues such as:

• Anxiety, panic, or depression
• Family concerns or challenges
• Patterns of significant interpersonal conflict
• Traumatic experiences 
• Financial challenges
• Stressful work/life balance
• Social skills or campus community integration
• Unmet basic needs
• Grief/Loss
• Illness

The Care Report is submitted directly to the Case Management Coordinator who will determine the appropriate response and outreach. Due to privacy and confidentiality laws, the Case Management Coordinator and The Office of Student Mental Health & Wellness cannot provide updates on outreach attempts or student's engagement in the program to the reporter.

If concerns persist, reporter can consult with the Case Management Coordinator. In the event the report includes any instances of code of conduct violations, the report may be shared with the BIT team for further intervention.

Submit a Care Report  it can also be located at jjc.edu/carereport 

In an effort to aid students that are experiencing housing instability and food insecurity, Joliet Junior College designated a liaison to assist students.

Students in higher education are increasingly struggling to meet basic needs such as stable housing.  We provide the most up-to-date state and local resources available to assist Joliet Junior College students facing homelessness or housing and food insecurity.

Homeless is defined as a student who does not have a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This includes, but is not limited to, students who:

• Are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
• Are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations
• Are living in emergency or transitional shelters;
• Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designated for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
• Couch surfing; or
• Are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings

Within the State of Illinois, you can use the Application for Benefits Eligibility (ABE) to apply on-line for healthcare, SNAP, cash assistance and the Medicare Savings programs.

You can also apply for healthcare and SNAP over the phone by calling the ABE Customer Call Center (800) 843-6154

• If you believe you may not be eligible for Medicaid, you may still be eligible for financial assistance to purchase private insurance through the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace. VisitHealthcare.gov

Find more information about programs offered through ABE

• Medicaid  Healthcare Coverage
• SNAP  Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
• TANF  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
• AABD Cash  Aid to the Aged Blind and Disabled Cash
• MSP  Medicare Savings Program

If you are at risk or experiencing homelessness or food insecurity, contact the Joliet Junior College Homeless Liaison:

Veronica Cabrera, Supportive Services Coordinator

Phone: (815) 280-2829   Email: vmascote@jjc.edu

If you know someone struggling, submit a Care Report  

All sessions, mental health, and therapy records are kept strictly confidential and are not part of the College’s student records.  Information is shared only with a student’s written permission.  Exceptions to confidentiality are rare and include when a person poses a threat to his/her/their own safety or the safety of others (direct threat) or when it is ordered by the court.

Services are open from: 

• Monday through Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m (Campus is closed on Fridays in the Summer Semester)

Appointments can be made by calling 815.280.2936 or by visiting our office at Main Campus in Room C-2019

Director
Cindy Danzell
Email: cindy.danzell@jjc.edu
Phone: 815.280.2485

Licensed Therapists: 
Ausra Tauginaite
Email: ataugina@jjc.edu
Phone: 815.280.6897

Heidi Stukel
Email: hstukel@jjc.edu
Phone: 815.280.2677

Kristy Caponi
Email: kristina.caponi@jjc.edu
Phone: 815.280.2687

Danielle Tierney
Email: danielle.tierney@jjc.edu
Phone: 815.280.6933

Coordinator, Case Management:
Mike Liacone
Email: mliacone@jjc.edu 
Phone: 815.280.6608

Administrative Assistant:
Kellie Nahas
Email: knahas@jjc.edu
Phone: 815.280.2759

For more in-depth information and a list of resources for students, please access your student page on MyJJC.