Today, clients live in nine supervised homes built along Glen Oaks Boulevard. They share cookies, conversation and snow-scooping chores with their neighbors. They learn to live independently and productively as they care for their homes, prepare their meals, do their laundry and look forward to each day as an opportunity for growth. Each morning they leave home and head for the former Central Baptist Church facility at 3222 Pawnee Place where OU has set up interim operations. There they move through individualized programs that may include physical, occupational and speech therapy, prevocational training, counseling, and educational sessions, all of which mesh with their specific goals.
Clients go beyond work and home, however.
Parties, dances, shopping, recreational outings and community involvement help refine social skills and comprise another dimension of OU's emphasis on personal growth and independence. Some finish at OU and live in their own apartments or share housing with another person. Others choose to return to their families. It was family members who spearheaded and developed Opportunities Unlimited and that makes it unique. It also serves people whose lives have been affected by birth complications, such as spina bifida and cerebral palsy.