Page 21 - North State Parent July 2020

{ UNIQUELY US {
REFLECTIONS OF A SPECIAL NEEDS PARENT BY JENNIFER ARNOLD
Spotlight on the Siskiyou Opportunity Center
Uniquely Us is a unique opportunity to address special needs issues and concerns and to celebrate life. If you have something in particular you would like to read about, please write to pn@northstateparent.com (please include UU in the subject line).
Here in the North State, we are fortunate to have several programs that provide services for individuals with special needs. For those
over the age of 18, there are day programs and organiza- tions that teach life skills and tools for independent liv- ing. The Siskiyou Opportunity Center (siskiyouoc.org), with locations in Mt. Shasta and Yreka, is one such orga- nization.
Siskiyou Opportunity Center was established in 1970 and today serves approximately 74 clients. According to Executive Director Dan Chianello, the Center’s purpose is to provide job training and services for the developmen- tally disabled.
Clients obtain job training in several areas, includ- ing woodworking, where they produce wood products such as picnic tables, kindling bundles, fencing and firewood bundles.
The Center has a state-certified recycling center that is open year-round; and the clients learn how to operate bailers, crushers, conveyor belts and forklifts along with learning customer service skills.
The Center’s supported employment services con- sist of small crews that maintain a couple of Caltrans rest areas, several classrooms at county schools, and the Dunsmuir Grade Station; and provide janitorial services for the Forest Services in McCloud and Mt. Shasta.
Mailing and confidential shredding services are provided from the office location in Yreka. This site also focuses on teaching clients computer skills, customer service and sales.
Along with the job training services, Siskiyou Op- portunity Center has a day program that concentrates on volunteer work and integrating the clients into the
community, teaching what Dan describes as “basic soft skills.” These can range from learning how to commu- nicate more effectively to help minimize frustration, to learning necessary activities of daily living such as meal prep and cooking, and personal hygiene: “The simplest of skills that we take for granted,” he explains.
Although Dan says many of the clients rotate in and out, there are a few clients who have been with them for 20, 30 or 40 years. Although some of the clients’ priority is finding full-time employment, Dan explains, “When de- velopmentally disabled people come to a program, their number one desire is not money. It’s not work. It’s to be around others like themselves.” He states that a lot of their clients are frightened of working in the community. They are aware of their challenges, and the idea of putting themselves out there can be daunting.
Dan is adamant that one thing he would like the community to know is that the program needs their support when it comes to his clients’ difficulty in find- ing employment. He says, “It’s not always easy to find employers that are willing to give them a chance.”
For more information on the Siskiyou Opportuni- ty Center and the services they provide, please call Mt. Shasta (530) 926-4698 or Yreka (530) 842-4110. Ó
Shasta County author Jennifer Arnold is the mom of four, two of whom have been diag- nosed with multiple special needs. She hopes to raise awareness of many issues that parents of special needs children face on a regular basis.
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