February 23, 2026 | Studio 4 KAMR myhighplains.com online article

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — For those with disabilities, there is a great place to reach out to if you’re in need of some support. Community Options, Inc. of Amarillo was established in 1998. The support they provide is for disabilities such as Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Fragile X Syndrome, and traumatic brain injury.

Watch the video on myhighplains.com.

Transcript:

Mari Ferrel – Studio 4 and KAMR Local 4 News Anchor

Don, thank you so much. And yes, we do have a special guest with us today. We have Sandra Alvidrez. We have Lauren Jackson. And Yvonne Mercer. Ladies, thank you all so much for coming in today.

Sandra Alvidrez – Community Options, Inc. of Amarillo Executive Director

Thank you for having us.

Mari Ferrel

Of course. so we’re going to be talking about Community Options of Amarillo and the support services that they provide for our community. So Sandra, just go, can you like tell us a little bit more about the mission?

Sandra Alvidrez

Yes. Well, we are a nonprofit organization. It was established in 1989. Our main focus is people with disabilities. We want them to be engaging in the community. We want to put them to work. We have host homes. We also have, some, individualized support services that they go to during the day. And we want them to feel included. And as anybody else would, we want them to have the rights that everybody else does in the right to choose whether they want to be able to live in the community with us or be able to work. So that’s one of our main missions, is supporting people with disabilities.

Mari Ferrel

Oh, okay. That’s such a sweet cause. Oh my goodness. And, Lauren, you know, so you all do a lot y’all’s for nonprofit. Can you tell us what your favorite thing about this organization is?

Lauren Jackson – Community Options, Inc. of Amarillo

It’s really just helping the individuals that we serve. Getting to see the smile on their faces, getting to know that we are helping them succeed day to day and giving them opportunities that they may not have if it weren’t for organizations such as ours. It’s it’s a great place.

Mari Ferrel

That is so good. And, Yvonne, how long have you been a part of this nonprofit?

Yvonne Mercer – Community Options, Inc. of Amarillo Provider Service Coordinator

I have been with Community Options now almost four years. So yes, I love it. Love getting to spend time with all of our individuals. We get to know each other very, very well. I spend at least 10 to 12 hours a day with them sometimes.

Mari Ferrel

Oh my goodness. Wow. And so y’all are hiring, is that correct?

Sandra Alvidrez, Lauren Jackson and Yvonne Mercer

Yes. Yeah.

Mari Ferrel

Tell us a little bit more about what you are looking for okay.

Sandra Alvidrez

Okay. We are looking for direct support professionals that will come to the homes or to the individualized support center that we have. And so it’s just we’re looking for that person that’s caring, that wants to be an advocate for our clients. You know, we we definitely have a great, onboarding, specialization where we make sure that we do the gentle teaching. We want to de-escalate situations that do happen if they do happen. One of our, biggest missions that we want to accomplish with not only our clients, but our employees is working together. We want to serve our community. We want to serve our clients. We just want to serve everybody. We want them to feel as important or, if not even more important, that they are also part of our community and that regardless of disabilities, we want them to feel that they’re just as normal as we are. So yes.

Mari Ferrel

You all are so passionate, just talking about this nonprofit. And if you are just as passionate as they are, go ahead and apply it, because, I mean, they told us all the qualifications. They just want someone that’s going to dive right in. And Sandra, you’re the executive director.

Sandra Alvidrez

I am. Yes, ma’am.

Mari Ferrel

Can you tell us about the crew that you have here with us, and how much like their support means.

Sandra Alvidrez

Their support means the world. Not only to our staff, our clients. Their phones are at their hips, 24-7. If an individual needs just some care or some talking to just feeling a little anxious, they are there for them nonstop. We we we are operating 24-7. And that’s the thing I love about it. We don’t shut down at 5:00 and we do have an open house coming up. We would love the community to come out. Our first one that we do have is Wednesday from 4 to 6, and that’s at 2907 Portland Lane here in Amarillo. And we also want them to come out to see our individualized specialty programs that we have and that we call that dayhab. But that is also on Thursday. And that’s at 3010 Southwest 27th. From 5 to 7. We have great, snacks. We want everybody to see what we do for the community, what we do for our residents. And we want them to know that, you know, we are a nonprofit. Anybody can donate. Anybody can volunteer. We are here with our arms wide open for everybody.

Mari Ferrel

That is so awesome. And we are running out of time. But Yvonne, Lauren, can you tell us where we can go for more info?

Yvonne Mercer

You can come by the office at 7470 Golden Pond Place, suite 100, or even call the office at (806) 379-6901. And we’ll be more than happy to share any information with you.

Mari Ferrel

Awesome. Well, ladies, thank you for coming in today. We appreciate it. Thank you. And stay with us. We have more studio 4 on the way.