December 12, 2024 | newsitem.com online article

PAXINOS — Community Options Inc. staff and clients gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its newest administrative office building in Paxinos on Thursday.

The office space, located at 1172 state Route 487, Unit 7, sports a conference room for staff members to conduct referrals or training sessions, four office cubicles and a kitchenette.

Community Options Inc. is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, but it has offices nationwide in a dozen states.

The nonprofit provides care and support to people of all ages with autism or intellectual disabilities through residential or supported living arrangements.

Pennsylvania boasts over a dozen offices from “Pittsburgh to Philadelphia,” according to Community Options Executive Director Jaime Lyons.

The Paxinos office is the nonprofit’s first and only administrative office to open in Northumberland County, but about 18 county residents have been receiving care from the organization.

Lyons said one to three people can live in care homes in the county. There, staff members can provide them with life services, like bathing or changing, or enhancing their life skills.

The goal, she added, is to work with clients and develop their skillsets enough to transfer to its supported living program so they can “live the same types of lives as everyone else.”

Clients in the supported living program have their own apartments, employment and bills, but they work with Community Options support staff as needed.

Lyons said that care plans look different for everyone. Some people may need more assistance with their mental health than with their disability.

Community Options accepts new clients from referrals through the Northumberland County Behavioral Health and Intellectual and Developmental Services Department. Community Options operates through state-funded medical waivers from institutions like Medicare and Medicaid, Lyons said.

Ashley Filarski, the director of supported living, said she’s been “very mobile” since she started working at the nonprofit about six months ago, so she’s excited to have a proper office space to facilitate meetings, referrals and events.

Lyons said the next closest offices are in Bloomsburg, Drums, Allentown and Pottsville.

Opening the administrative office allows Community Options staff to have better oversight of its services and be more involved in the community, Lyons added.

“We’re really focused on the people we support and being part of the community. We do a lot of advocacy work so people know what we’re doing and why it’s important,” she said.