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The Special Opportunity Center empowers adults with special needs to lead fulfilling lives with training and resources meant to develop life skills, encourage community participation, and support self-sufficiency.
Located at the corner of Francisco Lemos and Thompson Drive, the Special Opportunity Center is a day-habilitation facility partnered with the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers that offers adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities a place for community, employment, and education. Currently, the center is servicing 35 to 40 individuals in Kerrville every week.
“We work closely with MHDD. We provide the space, the building, the additional support for staff and for the individuals. Then they provide the medical professionals and the programs that run through the center,” said Brittany Lehmann, the executive director of the Special Opportunity Center.
The purpose of the center is to be a support system for adults with special needs once they age out of government assistance or just need more specialized care to achieve their goals.
“The state does a lot of good things for individuals with special needs that are 18 and under. As soon as they hit 18, what happens to them after that? Do they go home while their parents are working all day? Do they just sit at the house by themselves? The center is the answer to these questions. We provide respite for those families and provide additional support and care,” said Lehmann.
Independence is a vital characteristic to living a fulfilling life, and the Special Opportunity Center provides different classes and workshops for developing important life skills.
“We all have our goals, we all have our dreams. The center’s purpose is to give individuals the ability for those goals and dreams to become a reality. We’re currently doing music therapy, art therapy, cooking classes, employment training, and life skills programming,” said Lehmann.
Though the center often fosters these group activities, the care programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are customized to cater to an individual’s unique wants and needs.
“We assess each individual and determine what each of their goals are, and then we work towards them. If someone wouldn’t be able to live independently, and chooses that’s a goal for them, we would make that happen in whatever capacity we would need. Some need less assistance and some need full time care, but if that’s their goal, we’re here to make it happen,” said Lehmann.
One of the ways the center supports individuals of different need levels is by having varying levels of assistance available.
“We staff at certain ratios, such as one staffer per three individuals or two staffers for every three individuals, depending on the level of need. We’ve got about nine individuals living in group homes throughout the city that we make sure that we have staff available for any needs they might have,” said Lehmann.
Having such an in-depth resource for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities isn’t commonplace. The lack of continued support for adults with special needs is an issue that can go unnoticed if it does not directly affect you.
“For example, my daughter has Down Syndrome and she’s five years old. Before I had her, I had no idea about the special needs community in town. Ever since then, my life has become so much more enriched,” said Lehmann.
To get involved with Kerrville’s special needs community consider volunteering at the Special Opportunities Center. For more information, visit their website at https://kerrsoc.org/home.