Establish a community where individuals with developmental disabilities have an active role.

“Opening doors, creating opportunities and changing lives.”

Vision: Opportunity Knocks envisions a community where individuals with developmental disabilities have an active and encouraged presence.

Mission: The mission of Opportunity Knocks is to provide opportunities and resources for individuals with developmental disabilities to pursue their educational, occupational and social interests.

Guiding Principle: Individuals with developmental disabilities have unique and exceptional abilities that diversify and strengthen their communities. We will be guided by the interests of the individual and use self-advocacy as the foundation of our program development.

Goal: Create and promote positive activities for these individuals based on their stated needs and interests and use these activities to produce opportunities for community interaction.

Strategy: Establish a staff that has academic, professional and life experience with individuals with developmental disabilities. Our staff will be intimately familiar with this area of specialization and personally committed to the mission of Opportunity Knocks.

Program Objective: To individualize a program for the young adult (15+) with a disability by employing the individual as an equal architect in its’ creation.

Tactics:
• Infuse the values of self-advocacy, self-enrichment, self-sufficiency and self-esteem into each individual’s approach to their program.
• Incorporate parents and family members to assist in customizing each individual’s program.
• Establish a family atmosphere that encourages these individuals to initiate and develop relationships with both disabled and non-disabled peers.
• Cultivate a partner network of community agencies, i.e. businesses, churches and schools in effort to create a continuous collaborative relationship.
• Offer opportunities for volunteering to both the community and the program’s participants.

Mike Carmody, Executive Director
708-870-2376

Phil Carmody, President
708-307-5064