Residential Services
Cooking in a cottage
For a child, it could mean having a Village staff member come to their family home to teach living skills. For an adult, the Village can help them live independently in an apartment or home in a local neighborhood. For someone who needs more support, we offer 24-hour-a-day supervision in a home on the main Village campus. The options differ in size and location, in the degree of independence or supervision, and the amount of support.
For more information about services at Opportunity Village, please contact Elisha Payton, Service Coordinator, at (641) 355-1248.
Take a closer look at the array of living supports at Opportunity Village by watching a short video.
Cottage at the Village main campus
The 10 cottages on our main campus in Clear Lake are the first homes built by the Village. Each cottage offers private rooms for 12 to 16 adults, with a common dining room and lounges. Someone living in a cottage might need more physical care or supervision. Individuals learn and practice home living skills, such as helping with meals or doing their own laundry. Three of the cottages are licensed Intermediate Care Facility/Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR) to provide more intensive and active treatment.
The Clear Lake homes have nursing supports available and on call on a 24-hour basis, for staff to consult regarding a particular health care concern for a person served.
Northwoods Living in Fort Dodge also offers three ICF/MR homes in a residential neighborhood, each home to 10 individuals. Health services are available 24 hours a day, with therapeutic consultants provided as needed. Whirlpool and physical therapy are provided as directed by physicians and therapists.
Group homes
An adult who has learned more independent living skills and is ready for a quieter setting or more involvement in the community might move to one of the Village settings away from the main campus. Depending on the home, the individual might share a house with one to ten people.
Clear Lake Group Home
For instance, the Ralph Schroeder Group Home in Clear Lake is only a mile from the Village. These ten residents come to the main campus for work or have a job in the community. They share cooking and housekeeping duties and each has a large private room with a sitting area. This home was the first Village site away from the main campus, opened in 1980.
The Lake Mills Home is another example of a community living arrangement, with a unique twist. The community of Lake Mills built and owns this home and asked the Village to provide services. The five women who live here each has her own room and share household chores. Their home is located in a quiet, new residential neighborhood.
These two homes are among several small settings supported by the Village in North Iowa communities, including Clear Lake, Mason City, Lake Mills, Eagle Grove, Webster City, and Fort Dodge. Depending on the location, two to 12 individuals might share the home.
Living in an apartment
Sometimes a person is ready for a more independent life in the community. The Village provides services on an hourly basis only in those areas where they need help. Staff might help them with money matters, menu planning and shopping, or social skills. These individuals may live alone or with a roommate in an apartment or a private home within their community.
Northwoods Living in Fort Dodge offers a unique opportunity for apartment living at its Town Square Apartments. Constructed in 2008, Town Square includes 24 apartments geared for low-income persons with disabilities who need services and supports. This includes 18 one-bedroom and six two-bedroom units. Services and supports are available on-site through NWL Community Support Services, as needed by each individual. A NWL property manager is on-site during business hours.
Services for children
Services for children
Children can get services from Opportunity Village in their own family homes around North Iowa. A staff member visits their home and may teach basic living skills or simply provide respite to the parents on an hourly basis. We have served children from infancy on up. When a young person reaches the age of 16 to 18, they may be able to move to their first place away from home with Village support, depending on the funding type.
Seeking a well-rounded life
There's more to life than learning to do laundry or going to work, and Opportunity Village strives to offer activities for a well-rounded life. We encourage every person to become part of the community, attending public events, shopping in nearby stores, or accessing local resources.
Bowling with friends
Everyone needs personal time with friends, enjoying a shared interest like bowling or going to a movie. The Village provides as many opportunities as possible for individuals to choose an activity that appeals to them, away from work and home on evenings and weekends. It may be with a group, with a couple of friends, or as part of a larger public event.
Personal shopping, medical appointments, and events all draw people we serve into their local communities. It's important that individuals feel the satisfaction that comes from being a contributing member of society, whether through work, volunteer opportunities, or social connection.
We all make choices every day that affect our health and well-being. The Village strives to guide people we serve to make healthy choices, such as planning nutritious meals and snacks and getting plenty of fun exercise.
The beauty of Opportunity Village is its ability to provide a spectrum of services to cover all ages and needs. After a lifetime of fairly independent living in the community, a number of individuals have moved back to the more supervised cottage homes on the main campus as they've gotten older. They might need more physical care at this point in their lives or have health issues that need monitoring. We can potentially serve someone throughout a lifetime, as needs change over time.