10/26/2026
Incredible story!
FULL CIRCLE MOMENT.
Left: The 17-year-old girl who called DCFS on her own mother to protect her little sister.
Middle: The little sister she was trying to protect, now walking her own journey of recovery.
Right: The school social worker who answered that phone call in 2008 and never forgot it.
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“In the fall of 2008 I was in my office at East Alton Middle School and my phone rang. The caller ID said "Alton High School" which was not out of the ordinary, school staff call each other all the time. The thing that struck me that particular day was not the call itself, but the fact that Arielle Honaker was calling me from the Alton HS Guidance Counselor's office, letting me know that there were drugs in her home. Arielle was clearly very stressed, but let me know that she, at the young age of 17, was not going to put up with her little sister being in such an environment anymore. Arielle took it upon herself that day to call DCFS and report the situation.
Three things stood out to me about that phone call:
1. Arielle was 17 and a senior in high school; she had just made a really adult choice that would have some major ramifications for her personally;
2. I had never had a student from another school call me to let me know that they had concerns like this;
3. I had never had an older sibling put themselves that far out there to protect a younger sibling.
Now that I know Arielle, none of these things surprise me at all, she is such a strong person! Fast forward almost two decades to the summer of 2025, and I received an email from Rita Robertson, who is our youth substance abuse prevention coordinator in Jerseyville. Rita was sharing some resources with me for the professional organization I co-founded, Mental Health First Responders Network. In with the info she sent was the website for Jane's House, a startup sober living facility coming soon to our area. I clicked on the link, and as I looked through, I was transported back in time to my years in East Alton: I knew Jane Honaker, as her youngest daughter Arica was a student during my years as the social worker there! I remembered Jane well from my time there, and as I looked around the website, I saw Arielle's name in several places on the site. I knew Arica had older siblings, and I started to wonder, is this the same girl who called me all those years ago? It was a little later that I found out the short answer to that question: Yep! She sure was!
I emailed Arielle right then, letting her know who I am, and also asked for more info about her mission. I also invited Arielle to speak at one of our Network meetings, where she would be able to get the message out, and make some more connections. Prior to the meeting, she and I got to talk for a few minutes, and I said to her - You called DCFS on your mom when you were a senior at Alton High. You called your sister’s school too, it was me that you talked to that day and I’ve never forgotten. I let her know how courageous her act was, and I certainly DID remember her call! Both of us were emotional reminiscing about so many years ago, and then we got to start the meeting!
Today, I got to sit down with both Arica and Arielle, and it was truly a full circle moment! We talked about memories of their mom, the vision for Jane's House, and Arica's journey to sobriety. I am so proud of her; I have been sober from alcohol myself since July 17th, 2003, and have a special place in my heart for everyone who is working on themselves to recover from whatever addiction they are struggling with. It struck me during our conversation that Arica is blessed with a lot of strength and drive to stay sober, one day at a time. It also made me so happy that she has three sisters who care so deeply for her, and are supportive of her in her recovery! The ingredients for long-term sobriety include strong family support and unconditional love, and yes, sometimes unconditional love must be tough love!
The reason I believe so strongly in the mission of Jane's House, and the reason I know this will absolutely become a reality for our area is the fact that for 22 years as a school social worker, I saw on a regular basis the truth of Arielle's statement "if you can heal the mother, you can heal the family." I have seen so many kids who have parents in varying stages of addiction, and so many of these same kids struggle themselves in some manner. Bringing understanding and awareness to addiction in many forms, as well as giving women a place to heal is essential, especially in this area of Southwestern Illinois, where we do not currently have enough facilities to support addiction recovery. Blessings to everyone reading this, and thank you for your support of Jane's House!” - Kevin McNicholas
